The old axiom states that defense wins championships.

Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson, who has won a few of those, believes it to be the case.

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6 p.m. Friday – Vicksburg hosts Yazoo City

So when the Gators lost leading scorer Mychal Ammons to an ankle injury, they struggled with a three-game losing skid that forced the team to craft a  new identity.

Defense would be the key. Robinson was for a long time a proponent of the matchup zone, or 1-3-1, which combines elements of man-to-man (when a defender is on the ball) and zone (when a defender is away from the ball). In other words, it’s a hybrid that can be pretty nasty to opposition unfamiliar with it.

“It’s designed to look like a man (defense), but it’s really a zone,” Robinson said. “A lot of times, it gets kids on the other team confused on whether we’re playing man or zone. We played it in 2003, when I won a state championship, where it was our main defense.”

But he switched to conventional man and didn’t go back to his old defense until this season.

Good call.

The results speak for themselves as the Gators (9-4, 3-2 in 3-4A play) are playing their best basketball of the season with a 6-1 run with wins over Yazoo County, Canton, Forest, Lake, Raymond and Pearl. A loss to Lanier is the only demerit during that stretch.

“When Mychal went out, we had to focus on shutting folks down,” Robinson said. “They bought into it  and we’ve been doing an excellent job at it lately.”

In those six games, the Gators have only yielded a stingy 53.8 points per game. More recently, during the last four wins, the Gators allowed opposing teams to only shoot 31 percent against them from the field and 34 percent from outside the arc.

“It’s made a big difference,” senior swingman Maurice Williams said. “I think our defense has been the key to our offense.”

Over the holidays at the Raymond Tournament, the Gators took care of business with a 3-0 record.

The matchup zone is not the easiest defense to master. Also, it presents scads of confusion to the opposition.

The matchup zone requires things the Gators have in spades: veteran players who trust in the system and long-armed defenders who can make the passing lanes more clogged than Jackson traffic.

“You’ve got to be disciplined,” Robinson said. “You can’t take a lot of chances and be out of position. The key is to stop penetration. We want to keep them out of the lane as much as possible.”

One of the keys at frustrating penetration by the opposition is senior point guard Darius Williams, a frenzied gadfly who has consistently been a thorn in the side of opposing guards.

“I just like it,” Williams said of playing defense. “I like to get in their heads. I’m willing to do whatever to help the team.”

Senior Denzell Erves has been a force inside, both as a rebounder and as a shotblocker. With the Gators limiting penetration, it takes a great deal off pressure of their senior center.

“We just feel like we’ve got to stop them, one possession at a time,” Erves said. “We just try to get as many stops as we can.”

Switching gears to the offense, the Gators have also taken exceptional care of the basketball. Only in one of the last four games have the Gators given up the ball in double-figures.

One thing the Gators await is the return of Ammons, who is still limited as his ankle heals.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.