Gators face powerful Canton in state tournament

Published 8:00 am Friday, February 23, 2018

It’s not going to be easy for the Vicksburg boys’ and girls’ basketball teams to win in the second round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs, but no victory would be as sweet or loss as bitter if it were easy.

On Saturday, the Gators (13-16) will face off against a powerful Canton (27-3) team that is a favorite to win the Class 5A title and features one of Mississippi’s top players in guard Brandon Weatherspoon.

Tip off is Saturday at 7 p.m. at Canton.

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“We have a monster coming up Saturday,” Carter said.

Canton suffered a surprising loss to Velma Jackson four weeks ago, but its only other losses came way back in November. The Tigers won the Division 3-5A tournament and had a bye in the first round of the state tournament.

Meanwhile, Vicksburg has gotten hot at the right time and has won four of its last six, including a 60-59 win over Lake Cormorant in the first round of the state tournament.

Carter knows the Gators are underdogs, but he isn’t letting the hype get out of hand. He said they’re going into the matchup without fear.

“They put their pants on just like us, one leg at a time. We just have to strap up and let the chips fall where they may, hope they miss some shots like we were early in the first half (against Lake Cormorant) and maybe we can get some momentum early,” Carter said. “I respect Russ Evans, he’s a great coach, he’s done a phenomenal job, but we’re going to let the chips fall where they may and we’re going to play hard.”

Carter said his team was banking on using the momentum from their comeback victory in round one. The Gators rallied from an early 10-point deficit and hung on in the final seconds to win.

“We’ve won some close games down the stretch, that’s important, and if we can keep them close through that fourth quarter, anything can happen,” Carter said. “The biggest thing is trying to keep the game close. They’re a big team, and we’re kind of small, especially on the perimeter, but if we play hard and play together, who knows.”

In the Class 5A girls’ tournament, Vicksburg (15-13) will go on the road Friday night to play Division 3-5A champion Neshoba Central (14-13) in what looks to be an exciting showdown.

Vicksburg has had some struggles recently, going 3-3 in its previous six games, but is riding high with an absolutely dominant 78-43 win over Lake Cormorant in the first round of the state playoffs.

Meanwhile, Neshoba Central has won three games in a row, including a 53-40 upset of Canton in the Division 3-5A tournament championship game.

“From our studies, size-wise, we match up,” VHS coach Troy Stewart said. “They are a savvy team, truly savvy. All the guards move the ball extremely well. We’re going to have to play assignment defense, and we have to work on that for the next few days. If we try to play a zone, they’ll shoot us out of it.”

The Rockets’ top scorer is Taylor Ben at 12 points a game, while Hallie Billie is averaging 9.2 points and Jasmine Chickaway is averaging 8.1.

For Vicksburg, Ke’Mari Smith is the leading scorer at 10.3 points per game, while Pleasure King is scoring 8.3 and Tiarra Jones is at 6.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

Stewart felt there were two keys for the Missy Gators to come out with a victory and break into the top eight of the playoffs.

“We can’t go through scoring droughts, and the assignment defense I mentioned earlier,” Stewart said. “We have to be able to keep our assignment, and help if need be. I don’t need everybody helping from the beginning. We need to play the assignment, and then help.”

MHSAA STATE TOURNAMENT
Friday – Girls
7 p.m. – Vicksburg at Neshoba Central (Class 5A)
7 p.m. – Warren Central at Columbus (Class 6A)
Saturday – Boys
7 p.m. – Vicksburg at Canton (Class 5A)
7 p.m. – Warren Central at Starkville (Class 6A)