The Vicksburg Gators shot the ball well. They defended well. They got heroic performances from two of their best players.

Unfortunately, they also ran into Callaway on the wrong night.

Eight different players scored at least six points for the Chargers, who shot 64 percent from the field in the first half and withstood a spirited Vicksburg effort in the second to claim an 84-74 win over the Gators in the first round of the Warren Central Classic on Thursday.

Sean Prejean led Callaway (3-4) with 16 points, Alvon Fleming scored 13 and Mike James added 10 as the Chargers advanced to play Jim Hill tonight at 8:30.

&#8220I thought they came out and made some shots in the first half. We tried to go to a zone, we tried to go to a man and it never worked. They kept putting it in the basket,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. &#8220I have to give them credit. They played well.”

The loss ruined a phenomenal effort by Vicksburg’s Brandon Harper. The senior forward scored 42 points and grabbed nine rebounds, hit 17 of 19 shots from the field and went 6-for-9 from the free throw line. He scored 28 points in the second half, including 13 of the Gators’ 20 points in the third quarter.

&#8220After the first quarter, when I hit 10, I was like, ‘I feel like tonight is my night,’” said Harper, who had at least 10 points in every quarter but the second. &#8220We wanted this game bad. We tried and tried. I always want to beat Callaway. I always like beating the Jackson schools.”

Tony Ammons also had a solid game for VHS (7-2), scoring 20 points to go along with five rebounds, four steals and two blocks. He and Harper combined for 62 of the Gators’ 74 points, but their efforts were not enough.

After taking a 22-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, Callaway opened the second period with a 6-0 spurt that gave it a double-digit lead that wasn’t relinquished until the final minute of the game.

The Chargers were 9-for-11 from the field in the second quarter, outscored Vicksburg 22-10, and took a 44-26 lead into the halftime break.

The Gators played Callaway to a standstill in the second half, but the deficit was simply too large to overcome. Led by Harper and Ammons, who together scored 40 points after halftime, VHS outscored Callaway 48-40 in the last two periods.

(G) Callaway 55, VHS 48

A flurry of turnovers dashed Vicksburg’s hopes of beating Callaway in the opening game of the WC Classic.

The Missy Gators (5-4) committed 30 turnovers – 17 of them in the first half – and were never able to close the gap in a close game. Callaway used an 11-3 run at the start of the third quarter to put some space between itself and the Missy Gators, who didn’t lead again but never trailed by more than 12 points, either.

Rachel Jenkins led Vicksburg with 13 points. Jessica Collins scored 17 for Callaway (6-2), Kiana James had 16 points, six rebounds and six steals, and Sabrina Holden scored nine points.