Vicksburg on quest for 2nd championship since 2003

OXFORD — By beating Ridgeland on Friday night, the Vicksburg Gators avoided elmination Saturday, a fate that felled two other area teams.

Hinds AHS and Port Gibson felt that pain Saturday after getting eliminated in the go-home consolation game. So did Class 4A favorite Callaway, which lost to Ridgeland, 49-46.

That leaves the Gators (29-7) as the only school in the Warren County area still with a chance at a state championship. Vicksburg takes on Moss Point Tuesday night at 8 at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson for a 4A quarterfinal game.

A win Saturday night against New Hope (27-8) would’ve been great, considering the Gators could use a week off to recover after a grueling three games in a three day stretch at the North State 4A Tournament at Oxford High School.

The north half title game with New Hope was an illustration of why coaches dread having to play so much in such a tight frame. In the first quarter against the Trojans, Vicksburg star guard Jonathan Phelps went down with a knee injury.

Phelps, who had scored five points in the game’s first six minutes, was going up for a jumper near the baseline. He was met by New Hope’s 6-foot-6 reserve center Raymond Hollivay. Hollivay swatted the shot and Phelps came down awkward. Trainers and other attendants spent nearly 10 minutes trying to assess the damage.

“He was shooting and Raymond came over and got the block,” New Hope center Rashanti Harris said.

Phelps did not play the remainder of the game and was scheduled for an MRI this morning.

Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said losing Phelps will be costly.

“Phelps makes us better, no doubt,” Robinson said. “With him in there, we can beat New Hope.”

“I think we’ll see them again and we match up well,” Gator senior forward John Qualls said of New Hope.

Qualls became a leader, getting the Gators in the right sets which they were able to exploit the shooting talents of Mychal Ammons and Kelsey Howard. The freshman-sophomore duo combined to hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 17 and 15 points respectively.

“We’ll be all right, if Jonathan can’t make it back. We just need some rest. Three games in three days is tough. We’ll come back Monday and see where we are. The guys we have know how to play,” Qualls said.

New Hope coach Robert Byrd said the rest the bye will bring is a good thing.

“I think our guys are just wore out. It’s been a strenuous week and we’re mentally and physically wore out,” Byrd said.

Tuesday’s game with Moss Point will be a rematch of the 2005 South State 5A putout game in Biloxi. The Tigers rallied late to spoil Vicksburg’s chance at getting back to the state tournament, where they had won it in 2003.

St. Stanislaus will meet Ridgeland, a huge upset winner over Callaway in Saturday’s putout game in Oxford, on Wednesday afternoon. New Hope gets the winner next week. Picayune, the South 4A winner, awaits the Vicksburg-Moss Point winner next Monday.

The Gators also beat Moss Point in the 2003 state tournament, eventually beating Starkville for the Class 5A state title.

If you goTuesday, 8:30 p.m. – Vicksburg (29-7) vs. Moss Point (31-5)