[11/14/04] The Provine Rams didn’t plan on shooting a lot of 3-pointers on Saturday. Once the treys started falling, though, it was hard not to go with the flow.

Provine hit 10 3-pointers eight of them in the second and third quarters and buried Vicksburg High 77-49 in the boys’ championship game of the Coca-Cola Classic.

Mario Casey led Provine (4-0) with 17 points, and Otis Williams came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers and score 16 points. Jarvis Williams added another 16 points, and Earnesto Green had 13.

Sedrick Williams scored 21 of Vicksburg’s first 27 points and finished with a game-high 23.

“That wasn’t our gameplan. Vicksburg didn’t have a whole lot of size, and we were going to try and pound it inside,” Provine coach Luther Riley said. “But for some reason our forwards didn’t come ready to play today. So we went small, and luckily the threes were falling.”

Vicksburg’s shooting was ice-cold for most of the game, but Sedrick Williams kept the Gators (3-1) in the game. He scored their first 10 points and was 7-for-11 from the field in the first half.

Provine, meanwhile, took its time heating up. The Rams made only one of their first six shots from 3-point range, then suddenly couldn’t miss at the end of the half.

Casey and Otis Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers with under 2 minutes to play in the second quarter, sparking the Rams to a 15-4 run and blowing open a close game. Provine’s lead was less than 10 for most of the half, but it took a 38-24 advantage into the locker room.

“We were right there, and then they put that pressure on right before halftime and got momentum. We had a couple of turnovers and they got that lead on us,” VHS coach Dellie C. Robinson said. “We couldn’t recover from that.”

Provine used a combination of 3-pointers and defensive pressure to put the game away in the third quarter.

The Rams were 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the period, and went on a 13-0 run midway through to stretch the lead to 30 points. By the time Vicksburg’s Toney Ammons hit a 6-foot floater with 2:59 to play, Provine led 60-30 and the game was all but over.

In all, Provine forced 13 turnovers and outscored the Gators 30-9 in the period.

“When we tried to stop the inside game, they started making 3-pointers. When we started to get on the 3-pointers, they put it back inside,” Robinson said. “They’ve got a well-rounded team.”

WC 66, Callaway 54

Cody Grant scored 15 points and Shawn Walker netted 11 as Warren Central (2-1) beat Callaway in the fifth-place game of the Coca-Cola Classic.

Joshua Harvey led Callaway with 16 points, and James Burkes added 14.

Forest Hill 75, P. Gibson 50

Kevin Sims scored 13 of his game-high 16 points in the second half to lead Forest Hill past Port Gibson in the third-place game.

Jarvis Watkins had eight of his 13 points in the first quarter as Forest Hill opened a 35-18 lead at halftime.

Tobias Shanks led Port Gibson with 12 points and Denzell marbley scored 10. Brandon Brinson added 13 points for Forest Hill.