Games over for VHS, WC
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, February 13, 2002
[2/13/02] There was no shame to be found in the Vicksburg High gym amid the used napkins and plastic cups that littered the stands, but there was plenty of disappointment.
The gym will host two more games this year, but no Warren County teams will be playing in them after the Clinton Arrows beat Vicksburg 59-55 to complete a sweep of the county’s Class 5A programs in the first round of the Division 4-5A tournament.
Clinton’s Kolby Harris had a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Jerekus Singleton and Patrick Veal each hit two free throws in the final 26 seconds to give the Arrows (21-8) the win and a berth in Friday night’s championship game against Natchez.
Devin Jones had 14 points and Chris Humes added 13 for the Gators (23-9).
“This is definitely disappointing, because we won so many close games at home, and the one we needed most, we couldn’t pull off,” VHS coach Dellie Robinson said.
Warren Central’s girls fell to Clinton, 43-39, and its boys to Natchez, 83-64, while the VHS girls lost to Natchez 69-56.
It’s the first time since the Mississippi High School Activities Association went to the current 1A through 5A classification system in the 1984-85 season that none of Vicksburg’s or Warren Central’s teams have won at least one game in the division tournament.
“It’s going to be tough to sit here and watch the championship game knowing we had an opportunity to be in it. It’s going to be tough,” Robinson said.
Neither Clinton nor Vicksburg ever pulled away in Tuesday’s finale.
The biggest lead of the game belonged to Clinton, a 42-32 advantage midway through the third quarter that was quickly wiped out by a 10-2 Gator run.
Dewayne Jackson hit a turnaround jumper to give VHS a 47-46 lead with 4:50 to play in the game, and the shot started a tug-of-war with the lead that lasted until the final 30 seconds.
Jackson hit another big basket with about 1:30 to play to tie it at 55-55. Clinton then moved the ball upcourt and held for the last shot.
The Arrows had run the clock down to about 30 seconds when Harris tried to pass back to Singleton. Humes jumped in front of Singleton to attempt a steal, but caught the Clinton player’s arm and was whistled for a foul. Singleton hit both halves of the one-and-one to give the Arrows a 57-55 lead.
After a timeout, Vicksburg pushed the ball up the floor. L.J. Scott dribbled to the top of the key, looked for Jones but couldn’t get the ball to him, and settled for a jumper from 18 feet.
It rattled off the rim, as did a putback attempt by VHS’ Willie Powers, and Veal finally grabbed the rebound.
He was fouled with eight seconds left, and calmly sank both free throws to ice the game.
“Man, I just said I need to make these,’ ” Veal said. “I don’t know how to explain this. (The Gators) are a good team.”
That was a fact Robinson was hoping wouldn’t be lost in the disappointing end to the Gators’ season.
“Tonight was a difficult night and it didn’t go in for us,” Robinson said. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you’re 23-9 and then lose to the No. 2 or No. 3 team in the state in the preseason poll.”
(G) Natchez 69, VHS 56
Vicksburg hung tough against Natchez throughout the game, but Lady Dawgs finally pulled away with a 19-4 run in the fourth quarter and advanced to the championship game against Clinton on Friday.
Tricia Dart led VHS with 14 points, Latoya Trunell added nine points, seven rebounds and three steals and Kamekia Linzy had 11 points off the bench.
Christin West led Natchez (24-4) with 14 points, nine steals and four assists and Crystal Brown added 16 points and nine rebounds.
“I’m real proud of these kids. We did about all we could,” VHS coach Mike Coleman said. “I hate that it ended this way because we have a good group of seniors. I would have liked to have seen them play for a district championship. But I think we can look back on it and be real proud of it, considering where we were two years ago.”
The game went back-and-forth until Natchez made its run, largely because of missed opportunities on both sides.
VHS missed a half-dozen layups and was 10-for-20 from the foul line, while Natchez was 12-for-30 from the floor in the second and third periods.
Dart came up with a steal and layup to give the Missy Gators a 47-46 lead with 43.4 seconds left in the third quarter, but Natchez retook the lead in the final stretch of the quarter and led 49-47 heading into the fourth.
“I still feel like we had plenty of opportunities,” VHS coach Mike Coleman said. “All those short shots we missed, instead of going in down two points at the start of the fourth quarter we could’ve been up six or eight, and you never know what would’ve happened.”
What did happen was an 8-2 run by the Lady Dawgs that gave them their biggest lead of the game, 57-49 with 5:05 to play.
Vicksburg’s situation got worse 30 seconds later when leading scorer Marguerite Sims fouled out. VHS center Rae Evans picked up her fifth foul one minute after that, and the Missy Gators were left without an answer for Brown inside.
Natchez slowly pulled away in the last 31/2 minutes, eventually leading by as many as 17 points before VHS rallied with a 5-1 spurt to end the game.
“It hurt us because I thought Marguerite was having a real good game, and then we didn’t have anybody that could contain (Brown) except Rae,” Coleman said. “It put us at a disadvantage when she fouled out.”