Vicksburg wins first state title in 23 years over No. 2 Jackets

Vicksburg High players hoist the championship gold ball after beating Starkville, 61-54, to win the school’s first boys basketball Class 5A state championship since 1980. (C. Todd ShermanThe Vicksburg Post)

[3/8/03]JACKSON Starkville had the McDonald’s All-American, and a 20-game winning streak, and a perfect 28-0 record against in-state teams.

Vicksburg, though, has the most coveted prize in Mississippi high school basketball: The gold ball.

As they have done all season, and especially in the run through the Big House, the Gators played team ball all the way to a stunning 61-54 overtime win over the Yellow Jackets (28-3) in front of a raucous Mississippi Coliseum crowd of 5,500.

“I’m still dreaming,” said Vicksburg coach Dellie Robinson, who claimed his first state championship in 24 years of coaching. “Someone needs to wake me up because I am still dreaming.”

Devin Jones again paced Vicksburg (30-8) with 22 points and 11 rebounds and when he was fouled with 1.7 seconds to go and the state championship securely in his grasp, the standout senior slapped the floor twice, acknowledged the crowd, sank two free throws and led the wild on-court celebration.

“Words can’t explain, words can’t explain, words can’t explain,” said Jones, who averaged 25.3 points in the Gators’ three wins at the Big House. “I thought it slipped away there for a second, but we hit our free throws and Vicksburg is champion. Now we got that big gold ball over there.

“We’ve been the underdog all year. But we fought through it all.”

Jarvis Hill, who scored 16 points for Starkville, nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime tied at 49, but the Gators outscored Starkville 12-5 in the four-minute extra period and watched as Hill fouled out.

McDonald’s All-American Travis Outlaw scored a team-high 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had six blocks, but a punishing Vicksburg defense held the Mississippi State signee to no field goals in the second half and only one in overtime.

“We eat at McDonald’s,” Vicksburg reserve Michael Smith said with a chuckle. “But we prefer Wendy’s.”

L.J. Scott added nine points for Vicksburg and grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds, and Jones was the only Gator in double figures.

That is how this season has unfolded for Vicksburg. Each night someone different seemed to rise to the occasion when needed the most.

On Friday, there was Smith nailing 3 out of 3 3-pointers, and Cedric Parson coming off the bench to cover Outlaw like a blanket. And of course, Roy Williams hitting four free throws late in overtime to keep Starkville from ever taking the lead in the second half.

“We all work together,” Smith said. “We don’t have one go-to player, all 15 players working together.”

The Gators knocked off Columbus in the state satellite game, then finished second to Starkville in the North State tournament before beating Moss Point, No. 3 Hattiesburg and now No. 2 Starkville. The last unranked team to win a state Class 5A championship came in 1985 when Grenada beat Horn Lake.

“We knew all along we were the best team in the state,” Williams said. “We wanted to prove it to everyone else.”

The Gators proved it early after falling behind in the first half by as many as seven points. Smith then nailed two 3-pointers and Devin Jones hit two free throws as part of a 10-2 run that gave Vicksburg a 24-23 halftime lead.

A Jamaal Thomas hoop off a steal by Jones midway through the third quarter gave Vicksburg its biggest lead of the night, 37-29, but after four straight turnovers the Jackets pulled within four at the end of the third quarter.

With 30 seconds left in the game and the Gators leading 44-43, Outlaw missed a baseline shot and Jones hit two free throws for a 46-43 lead.

Jones hit two more free throws to give Vicksburg a 48-43 lead with 17 seconds to play, and the crowd started erupting.

Hill, though, drained a 3-pointer with 10 seconds to play and the net got hung up in the rim, stopping the clock. The Yellow Jackets were out of timeouts and several seconds would have burned off if not for the net.

Williams was fouled and hit one of two free throws, and Hill sent the game into overtime with his 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“Coach told us not to worry about it and keep doing what we were doing,” Thomas said. “We had to keep playing defense and the outcome would come to us.”

The last time the Gators won a boys state title in basketball was in 1980, when the team finished 40-5 and beat Callaway in the final.

That team, though, was expected to win a state championship and was ranked high from the beginning.

This year’s group came close to being ranked in December, but two losses in a row kept the Gators from the polls despite beating Class 4A champion Provine twice.

Robinson, who was decked out in a lavender suit he preaches in at church, said there is little doubt now who is the best in Mississippi.

“This is such a great win for our program,” Robinson said. “The kids have done a super job all year long and we knew we could do it. When we beat Provine twice this year, we knew we could beat anyone in the state.

“Provine just won the 4A state championship and Vicksburg just won the 5A state championship. We might just ought to be the best team in the state.”