RAYMOND — Vicksburg High did not handle prosperity well on Monday.

The Missy Gators wasted a 10-point lead early in the second half, and most of a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter, but were able to hang on for a 52-45 win over Moss Point in the first round of the Raymond Tournament.

Kamiko Martin had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Vicksburg (5-4). Donyeah Mayfield had a game-high 21 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and two blocks. Mayfield scored her last four points during a game-ending 7-2 spurt that sealed the win. Jessica Barnes led Moss Point with 12 points.

Vicksburg advanced to a semifinal game tonight at 7:30 against Lake.

“Free throws,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said in explaining why the Missy Gators weren’t able to put the game away when they had their big leads. “We were 8-for-25 on free throws. All of our games are like that. We do what needs to be done to get there, and aren’t able to capitalize on it.”

Vicksburg used a 10-2 run late in the first half to open a 27-19 lead, and stretched it to 10 points early in the third quarter. Moss Point (4-10) answered with an 11-2 run of its own to regain the lead, but Shanequa Hill and Cortni Cooper each turned a steal into a layup in the final minute of the third to give VHS a 41-32 lead heading into the final period.

A 13-2 run got Moss Point within a basket, at 45-43, with 2:52 remaining in the game.

“They’d start pressing us and some of the wrong people brought the ball down the court,” Mayfield said. “We just needed our guards to bring the ball down the court and we weren’t getting it to them.”

Again, though, the Missy Gators did just enough to stay ahead. Mayfield hit a short shot from the left side, and Jazmine Walker got a steal on the other end and fed Mayfield for another layup to make it 49-43. A free throw by Walker and a basket by Cooper closed out the scoring.

Vicksburg boys beat Forest 51-35

The Vicksburg Gators couldn’t find their shooting touch, but it hardly mattered. Everything else worked just fine. The Gators (6-3) used a strong effort at the foul line, a dominant performance on the boards, and a suffocating defensive effort in the fourth quarter to beat Forest (4-5) in their first game at the Raymond Tournament.

VHS shot only 16-for-55 for 29 percent from the field, but went 17-for-23 at the foul line and outrebounded the Bearcats 45-26.

Defensively, they held Forest without a point for nearly seven minutes in the fourth quarter. Forest didn’t score in the final period until Lavadius Lyles hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 remaining and his team already down by 19 points.

“We went to a little trap and that was the difference in the ballgame. We started getting some easy turnovers and scored some points off of them,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. “We used that 1-3-1 matchup zone, and you’re going to have to beat us from outside. (Lyles) made some, but we were able to keep them off the boards.”

Lyles did hit five 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, but the Bearcats didn’t make too many others. As a team, they were just 6-for-14 from beyond the arc — and 7-for-36 inside it.

The Gators also cleaned up nearly every rebound, with Denzell Erves collecting 17 boards and Chris Miller getting nine.

Maurice Williams led Vicksburg’s scoring with 17 points, and Kelsey Howard had 14 points and six rebounds.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.