COLLINSVILLE — Sophomore Matavais Burton scored 21 points on Tuesday to lift the LaFayette High School boys basketball team to a 57-49 victory at Collinsville in the sub-regional round of the Class 2A state playoffs.

With the win, the Bulldogs (18-9) advance to Friday’s Northeast Regional at Jacksonville State University. They will play face Section at 4:30 p.m. CST in the region semifinal.

“Our kids played hard,” Bulldogs head coach Obadiah Threadgill said. “We made some mistakes, but we can clean those mistakes up.”

LaFayette took command from the outset in the triumph at Collinsville. Led by eight points from Burton, the Bulldogs built an 11-3 lead through the first quarter.

LaFayette added to its advantage in the second period, scoring 22 points. The Bulldogs entered halftime with a 33-19 edge.

They maintained the cushion for most of the second half.

LaFayette held a 45-32 lead with a quarter to go, but it was outscored by five points in the final period. The late spurt wasn’t enough to impact the outcome.

“We kind of controlled the game from start to finish,” Threadgill said. “We did a lot with our athleticism.”

JaMarquez Boston-    Gaines (13), Markevious Moore (11) and Corey Boston (10) joined Burton in double figures. Kaleb Jones led Collinsville with a team-high 18 points.

Section, the team LaFayette will face in the region semifinal, clobbered Ranburne on Tuesday, 101-58, in the sub-regional round. Section has been ranked No. 1 in 2A for much of the season.

On the line Friday will be a spot in Monday’s region final.