Stumbling Gators fall to Rebels

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 16, 2003

[12/13/03]Vicksburg High’s habit of turning the ball over is threatening to bury it in the Division 6-5A basement.

Forest Hill took advantage of the Gators’ ball-handling woes Friday night to hand VHS its fourth straight loss and third in a row to a division opponent 77-64.

Sedrick Williams scored 16 points, Brandon Harper had 14, and Cedric Parson and Walter Beamon had 10 apiece for VHS (5-7, 0-2 Division 6-5A). Kevin Sims led all scorers with 18 points for Forest Hill, while Klif Sims added 15, Rashad Crisler had 12 and Brandon Benson had 11.

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The game was tied at 12 after the first quarter, but Forest Hill took the lead by scoring 28 points in the second period and outscoring VHS 19-9 in the third. The binge gave the Rebels a 59-40 lead that was too much for the Gators to overcome.

“It was the same old thing for us. We’ve just got to learn to take care of the basketball,” VHS coach Dellie Robinson said.

Vicksburg lost its division opener to Natchez on Tuesday, and to archrival Warren Central last week in a game that did not count toward the division standings. Despite the losing streak, Robinson said he wasn’t worried about the Gators falling too far behind to catch up in the division title race.

“Not really, because we’ve still got three ballgames at home. If they (losses) were at home, I’d be a lot more worried than if they were on the road,” Robinson said.

(G) Forest Hill 70, VHS 49

Forest Hill outscored Vicksburg 40-16 in the second and fourth quarters and cruised to a win over the Missy Gators (9-4, 1-1).

Toneka Scott led four Forest Hill players in double figures with 19 points, and Jessica Thomas added 15. Deirdre Bailey had 14 for VHS, while Cre’Tarsha Taylor added 11 and Kendra Sims had 10.

VHS led 15-8 after the first quarter, but fell victim to a slew of turnovers and trailed by seven points at halftime. After a close third quarter, the Lady Rebels outscored VHS 19-9 in the fourth period to put the game away.

“After the first quarter we just didn’t play,” VHS coach Mike Coleman said. “Forest Hill had a lot to do with it, though. They killed us on the offensive boards and we made a lot of unforced turnovers.”