JACKSON — Division 3-4A was considered one of the state’s best divisions and last week’s North State 4A Tournament bore that out. The division’s top three teams advanced to this week’s state tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Mississippi Coliseum.

Vicksburg High is one of the three teams to advance, despite finishing fourth in the divisional tournament. The Gators (22-10) reeled off three straight wins in the North State playoffs, including a thrilling 58-52 win over top-seeded Callaway on Friday to clinch a berth in the state tournament for the second straight year.

Vicksburg couldn’t regain its energy for Saturday’s North State final against division rival Ridgeland and fell 59-46, making the Gators the No. 2 seed from the North. On Wednesday at 8 p.m., the Gators get a rematch with St. Stanislaus, a team that crushed them 46-25 in January’s Red Carpet Classic at VHS.

“We get to play St. Stanislaus again and at least we know not to play them a match-up zone,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson quipped after Saturday’s game with Ridgeland.

The Gators were without leading scorer Kelsey Howard in the first meeting with the Rock-A-Chaws. Howard was out with a hip contusion and the Gators struggled mightily against Stanislaus’ man-to-man defense. They also didn’t know much about Brian Lynch, who made four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.

Robinson, while disappointed his team couldn’t get the first-round bye that comes as a reward for winning North State, was happy with his team winning three consecutive pressure-packed games, including two against division champions on their home floor. VHS also won at Shannon in a satellite game last Tuesday.

“No question about it, to beat Callaway was a great accomplishment. That’s why we were so flat against Ridgeland and didn’t play well,” Robinson said.

Howard, though, played well in all three North State Tournament games, averaging 21.7 points per game. He had a game-best 26 points in the upset of Callaway. Stanislaus coach Jay Ladner knows the Gators will be much tougher to defend with Howard in the lineup.

“We know they are a much different team with Kelsey Howard,” Ladner said after winning the Red Carpet Classic over the Gators.

The Rock-A-Chaws struggled last week in the South State Tournament. They needed a last-second 3-pointer to beat Brookhaven 39-36 in the satellite game, then were beaten handily by Forest Hill in Friday’s semifinals. St. Stanislaus came back to dismantle McComb 65-43 in Saturday’s consolation game.

Callaway (28-6) bounced back too, dethroning defending Class 4A champion New Hope 83-63 in Saturday’s consolation game. The Chargers will face Wayne County (28-3) on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 in a quarterfinal game. The winner will meet Ridgeland (27-6) next week in the semifinals. The Vicksburg-Stanislaus winner gets Forest Hill.

In Class 2A, Hinds AHS won the South State 2A title by thrashing Taylorsville 72-51 in the final at Richton. The War Dawgs (29-2) have a bye until next week when they will face Tuesday night’s winner between South Delta and Kemper County. South Delta lost to West Bolivar 65-47 in the North State title game in Clarksdale.

Hinds was able to hold Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton to just 17 points in its title game. Hamilton had scored 54 and 45 in the Tartars’ previous tournament wins at South State.

Hinds was led by Keeslee Stewart with 20 points and Erik Burks had 19.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com