Gators wary of first-round foe|Prep basketball playoffs

Published 12:00 am Monday, February 9, 2009

The Division 3-4A tournament gets underway tonight at Callaway and even the high seeds will have their work cut out for them.

Division 3-4A

At Callaway

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Monday, Girls, 8:30 p.m.

Vicksburg vs. Yazoo City

Tuesday, Boys, 5:30 p.m.

Vicksburg vs. Canton

The Vicksburg Gators (18-7, 10-4) are the No. 2 seed in the eight-team boys draw but will get a tough No. 7 seed in Canton in a first round game Tuesday night at 5:30. The Vicksburg Missy Gators (10-14) will conclude play tonight at 8:30 date against Yazoo City in the girls draw.

The Gators swept the regular-season series from the Tigers, including a 64-53 win in the last meeting at Canton. But coach Dellie C. Robinson is still wary.

“There are no easy games for us. Even though we may have beaten Canton twice, they are the only team in the division to have beaten Callaway and they’ve also beaten Ridgeland,” Robinson said.

Callaway, ranked fifth in the state, went 13-1 in division play and earned the No. 1 seed. It swept Vicksburg in the regular season and will host No. 8 seed Yazoo County in its tournament opener Tuesday at 4 p.m.

The Gators won their last three division games to clinch the No. 2 spot and avoid having to play Callaway until the finals. The Gators, however, lost their regular-season finale Friday night to second ranked Brandon, 59-57. Vicksburg had a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter but lost it and the game.

“Any tight game you can play going in is going to help, especially against a tough team like Brandon,” Robinson said.

The Brandon game was only the fourth time in the past three weeks that Vicksburg has had a healthy lineup.

Leading scorer Kelsey Howard missed three games with a hip pointer and Mychal Ammons missed 14 games in the first half of the season with an ankle injury.

Having those two players back should bolster the Gators’ chances in the division tournament.

VHS girls coach Barbara Hartzog’s team has lost twice to Yazoo City but will have a relatively healthy Alexus Stirgus available. Stirgus was hurt down the stretch with a MCL strain.

“She’s moving better, but she still hasn’t got her quickness back. We’ve also moved up a ninth grader in Antoinette Mayfield. She will help us with our rebounding,” Hartzog said.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com.