After 16 attempts and six trips to the tournament finals, Vicksburg High boys basketball coach Dellie C. Robinson can finally lay claim to a Vicksburg Warren Classic championship.

The Gators finished the threeday tournament with a 3-0 record capped on Saturday with a convincing 69-52 victory over previously unbeaten Canton.

“Canton is a tough team and they just of one of their football players back today,” said Robinson, who coached at Canton for 10 seasons before coming to Vicksburg in 1991. “I think we were a little sharper than they were because we don’t rely on our football players as much.”

Vicksburg’s Delmon Robinson and John Qualls both play on the football team and saw action on Saturday, as did most of the team. Robinson said his team can comfortably go 14 players deep, something he has never had in his career at VHS.

Jonathan Phelps led all scorers with 19 points, while Maurice Williams had 15.

Freshman Mychal Ammons scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jaybri Williams poured in 12 points.

It was from the free throw line, though, that the Gators were able to pull away. Vicksburg converted 26 of 35 attempts from the stripe.

“Any time you can send Mychal Ammons to the line he will not miss many and I liked the way Maurice Williams stepped up to the line today,” Robinson said of the duo who connected on 16 of 22 free throws.

Toraski Robinson paced Canton with 16 points and the Tigers kept the game close throughout the first half, trailing 37-30 at the break.

The Gators responded with pressure defense in the second half which led to a 14-6 scoring advantage that gave Vicksburg a 51-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Richland 74, St. Aloysius 41

Alex Lanier scored a game-high 25 points, but five Richland players scored in double figures as the Rangers defeated the Flashes in the first game of the season.

The Flashes trailed 16-15 at the end of the first quarter, but were outscored 22-6 in the second and 22-12 in the third quarter.