Ebon Williams of Warren Central, center, blocks a shot from a Port Gibson player as Lady Vikes’ Chasity Blue, left, and another Port Gibson defender go after the ball on Monday night. The Lady Vikes won, 53-43. (The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[11/26/02]There is nothing quite like a rim-rattling dunk to spark a run.

After Port Gibson scored 14 straight points, leaving Warren Central holding on to a precarious two-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Dewayne Washington had no problem elevating his game to provide the jumpstart.

Washington used two timely fourth-quarter dunks to spark a 23-point run, helping the Vikings (5-1) blow past Port Gibson (4-3) 67-50 Monday.

“Dewayne had a big night for us, and it helped that we got balanced scoring for a change,” Vikings coach Preston Wilson said. “Guys stepped up at crucial times.”

Washington led the Vikings with 20 points and four rebounds and center Chi-Chi Ezekwe scored 17 points with six rebounds and four steals.

Antawne Jones led the Blue Waves with 17 points and Carl Jones scored 10.

The game began as one-sided as the final score indicates.

Washington started the game red-hot, scoring every basket in an 8-0 first quarter run, including a breakaway dunk, as the Vikings held Port Gibson scoreless for the first five minutes of the game.

“We just made too many mistakes,” Blue Waves coach Kim Windom said.

“We weren’t replacing on the press and were leaving people out to dry.”

It wasn’t until late in the third quarter that the Blue Waves found their defense and rode it on a 14-2 scoring stretch that continued into the fourth quarter.

Grasping a 46-44 lead, the Vikings’ defense responded, and Washington went back to work with his second dunk of the night. The Blue Waves could only watch as WC rode the momentum on a 23-6 landslide, with Washington providing the exclamation point with a dunk.

“I just told the guys that when their backs are against the wall, they’ve got to fight it out,” Wilson said. “They came out and showed what can happen when all cylinders are kicking.”

WC 53, Port Gibson 43

Warren Central coach Donny Fuller can see it all coming together.

His Lady Vikes made 16 of 23 free throws, shot productively without leading scorer Cookie Johnson on the floor, and most importantly, they netted their record at an even 3-3 with a 53-43 win over Port Gibson.

“I feel like we are a team that is going to get better as the year goes on. When you look out there and we’re starting three sophomores and two juniors, we’re going to make mistakes early,” Fuller said, “But we’re going to get better and we’re going to keep working.”

Johnson led the Lady Vikes with 13 points, nine rebounds and four blocks and Carla Latham had 12 points with four rebounds.

Amina Palmer led Port Gibson with 11 points and Tanya Greer had 10, but the two combined for only five in the second half.