Warren Central’s Carla Latham goes in for a layup in front of Vicksburg High’s Arcola Scott during the second half of the Lady Vikes’ 55-34 win over Vicksburg of Saturday. (C. Todd ShermanThe Vicksburg Post)

{1/19/03}Vicksburg finally vanquished its Viking hex Saturday afternoon.

The Gators jumped out to a 21-point lead in the first half, then watched as Warren Central whittled it down to eight before holding on for a 57-48 win.

“We’ve been struggling over here for a while. It’s nice to get a win over here, especially a win in the district,” said VHS coach Dellie Robinson, whose team lost twice in tournaments at WC’s gym earlier this season, including the Coca-Cola Classic championship game against WC in November.

Devin Jones led the Gators with 17 points, five steals and four assists, Jamaal Thomas added 10 points and seven rebounds, L.J. Scott had 14 points and Michael Smith came off the bench to score eight in the second half.

Chi Chi Ezekwe scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half for WC (13-7, 2-2 Division 4-5A), and Ronnie Jones had 12 points.

The Vikings outplayed the Gators for much of the second half, but couldn’t overcome a horrible first half that left them in a 19-point hole at the break.

VHS (16-5, 3-0) took control of the game with a 12-0 run in the first quarter, capped by Cedric Parsons’ follow-up dunk on a miss by Thomas.

The dunk gave the Gators a 17-6 lead with 1:19 to play in the first quarter, and they increased it to 31-10 midway through the second period when Sedrick Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers.

WC, meanwhile, was struggling mightily. The Vikings were just 5-for-22 from the field in the first half, were outrebounded 17-8 and committed 15 turnovers.

“The first half, we just fell so far behind and that type of team you can’t afford to fall behind like that,” WC coach Preston Wilson said. “We turned the ball over, we didn’t block out, and they got a lot of easy baskets.”

The second half was a different story, however.

WC opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run keyed by Ronnie Jones’ 3-pointer and layup, and continued to chip away at the deficit throughout the second half.

Ezekwe scored six straight for WC midway through the fourth quarter to cut it to single digits, 51-43.

“I guess in the second half we got a little relaxed. We started celebrating too early,” Devin Jones said.

The Vikings didn’t get any closer.

Thomas hit two free throws for VHS to push it back to 53-43, and Devin Jones hit a 15-foot jumper to make it 55-43. The teams traded baskets from there, and WC never scored again.

“I’m proud of them for not giving up and playing hard to the finish,” Wilson said.

(G) WC 55, Vicksburg 34

Warren Central turned in one of its best performances of the season and cruised to an easy win over a seemingly emotionless Vicksburg squad.

Cookie Johnson had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead WC (10-10, 2-2), Ebon Williams added 11 points and Saleda Montgomery had eight points and four steals.

Tricia Dart led VHS (12-9, 1-2) with 15 points, and Tiffany Hubbard added seven points and five steals. Both players fouled out in the fourth quarter.

The Lady Vikes opened the game with a 9-2 run and never trailed. They shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half and forced the Missy Gators into 17 turnovers.

“I think, without a doubt, we probably played our best basketball game from start to finish. We’ve had spurts where we’ve played well … but for the first time I thought we finally put together a total game,” WC coach Donny Fuller said.

Vicksburg had some chances in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize on numerous defensive stops.

The Lady Vikes increased the lead to 30-19 by halftime, and outscored VHS 14-6 in the third quarter to push it over 20 points and put the game away.

“I never felt like we were in it at all,” VHS coach Mike Coleman said. “After the first half, the effort just wasn’t there like it has been lately. We just didn’t show any real motivation, and I don’t understand it since it was a Warren Central game.”