The return of Mychal Ammons to the Vicksburg High lineup Tuesday night had its share of speed bumps against a tough Ridgeland defense, but when it counted the most, the 6-foot-5 sophomore made the game’s key play.

Ammons’ pass to a wide open Denzell Erves with nine seconds left keyed the Gators’ 45-42 win over Ridgeland in a crucial Division 3-4A game at VHS.

The win lifts Vicksburg (12-4, 5-3) into sole possession of third place in the eight-team division, arguably the toughest in Mississippi. Both Ridgeland and Vicksburg made it to the Class 4A state tournament last March.

Ammons had been out nearly two months after suffering ligament damage to his ankle in the finals of the Vicksburg-Warren Tournament against Wingfield. He missed 13 games but was back against Ridgeland. He hit his first two shots, both long 3-pointers, then struggled from the field thereafter. Still, he had a presence late to help Vicksburg hold on for the victory.

“It’s great to have him back because he can do it all,” Erves said. “He saw where the defender was cheating over, trying to cut him off, and he made the pass to me.”

Ammons, who has already received national recruiting attention as a sophomore, was glad to be back.

“It was a struggle. My ankle is still kind of hurting. But I was glad to make that pass. I saw the guy cheating over to me,” Ammons said.

“Mike had a decent game. He’s going to get better, the more he plays,” VHS coach Dellie C. Robinson said.

Ammons’ hot trigger helped Vicksburg jump on the Titans 16-2. The Gators made seven of their first nine shots and Erves was swatting away shot after shot on the other end. He had five blocks in the opening quarter as Vicksburg took a 21-7 lead.

The spread went to 17 twice, the last at 26-9 after a basket by Chris Miller. Then Ridgeland (12-4, 5-4) switched to its matchup zone and the Gator offense broke down.

Ridgeland started making shots on its end to climb back in the game and was down only 30-20 at the half.

A 3-pointer by Deverick Wansley with 40 seconds to go in the third quarter made it 36-33. Kelsey Howard answered with a 3-pointer with 10 seconds left to put Vicksburg up 39-33 going to the final quarter. Wansley made two free throws with 2:47 left to make it a two-point game at 41-39.

Howard countered by sinking a pair of his own after beating his man on a drive from the middle of the lane. Wansley came back with his last 3-pointer of the game, a long shot from the corner, to make it a one-point game at 43-42 with 1:44 to go.

A turnover by the Gators gave Ridgeland its first chance to get the lead but Wansley couldn’t convert from the corner and Ammons came down with a big rebound with 38 seconds left.

Vicksburg nearly turned it over three times against the Titans’ double teams, but on the final sequence, Ammons got the ball near the key and found Erves open for the dunk. Howard led Vicksburg with 14 points. Maurice Williams had nine points, six rebounds and five assists.

Erves had eight points, seven rebounds and six blocks while Ammons ended with seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. Wansley and Donovan Ross had 13 points each to lead Ridgeland.

Missy Gators rip Ridgeland, 57-28

The Missy Gators (7-9, 4-4) played their best game of the season to finish a sweep of Ridgeland (5-12, 1-8).

Kamiko Martin had 15 points and four rebounds while Alexus Stirgus and Donyeah Mayfield had 10 points each. Stirgus passed out six assists and Mayfield had 10 rebounds.

“We rebounded the ball a lot better and were just more consistent tonight,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com.