Ebon Williams (50) of WC comes down with a rebound in front of teammate Dorothy Jenkins and a Port Gibson defender.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[10/30/01]The Warren Central struggles from the free throw line didn’t enter Walter Cook’s mind as he stepped to the line with a chance to clinch the Vikings’ second win in as many games.

He looked at coach Preston Wilson who “winked his eye at me,” Cook said.

The junior then coolly drained both free throws, giving WC (2-0) a 63-61 win over Madison Central in the opening round of the Coca-Cola Classic.

It also sets up a showdown with Natchez, ranked No. 3 by The Clarion-Ledger.

“I knew I had confidence in the shot,” said Cook, who led the team along with Sherman Logan with 12 points each.

Ronnie Jones and Clifford and Clifton Walker each had eight for the Vikings, who led most of the first half, then had to come back in the second.

Warren Central fell behind 57-53 with 3:19 left in the game, but went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes to take a four-point lead, 63-59, before the Jaguars (0-1) added a late basket.

“If we would have taken care of the ball, we would have had a much better chance,” Madison Central coach Bruce Robinson said. “To win the game, you have to take care of the basketball.”

Trailing 59-56 with 1:29 left in the game, Logan hit back-to-back layups off a pair of MC turnovers to give the Vikings the lead again, one it lost midway through the third quarter.

Steven McDevitt added a free throw WC was only 8 of 19 on the night for a two-point lead, then tied up Madison’s Tony Lowe for a jump ball possession to WC.

“We have to do a better job on our press than we did tonight,” Wilson said. “We seemed a step slower tonight.”

The Jaguars were led by Alec Butler’s 15 points and 11 from Lowe.

WC 70, Port Gibson 21

The Lady Vikes (2-0) had little trouble taking care of Port Gibson (0-2) in the opening round of the tournament.

JaQuita Benard scored a game-high 13 points and had 10 rebounds and freshman Cookie Johnson had 12 points as WC fell behind 1-0, then went on a 25-0 run over the rest of the first quarter and the first three minutes of the second.

“I was pleased with the way we played in the first half,” said WC coach Donny Fuller, whose team held a 40-8 lead at the half. “We came out focused and really got after it. I especially thought we did a great job defensively.”

Warren Central held the Lady Waves to 13 percent shooting for the game. Catronda Thornton and Munirah White each had six points.

Wanda Calvin and Wendy Thomas each had 11 points for WC, which played 14 players and had 12 score.

The Lady Vikes will be back in action tonight in the semifinals of the tournament at 7 p.m. against division opponent Natchez in a non-division game.