Vicksburg High’s dynamic duo of Mychal Ammons and Kelsey Howard spent much of Thursday’s Vicksburg-Warren Tournament game in foul trouble.

The rest of the Gators, however, came up with enough points and defensive stops to get Vicksburg past Canton 59-52. The Gators (3-0) will conclude their tournament on Saturday against Port Gibson.

“It’s hard when Mike and Kelsey both get in foul trouble because I want to keep at least one on the floor. The other kids have just got to come on and play,” Gators coach Dellie C. Robinson said.

“The good thing about the other guys is that we have a lot of quickness. We can do more things with our pressure. But 5-on-5, we’re not as good. We’ve got to keep people out of the lane. No. 20 (Demarcus Lewis) had his way with us,” Robinson added.

Lewis had a game-high 25 points and brought Canton (0-3) back from a 19-point second-quarter deficit after Ammons and Howard went to the bench with two fouls each.

“My senior (Lewis) stepped up and became a leader tonight for us,” Canton coach Melvin Gilliam said. “He has the ability to be great and we need him to be because we have a lot of young guys.”

Howard got two more in the third quarter and Ammons had one as the Tigers cut a 40-26 halftime spread to eight at 48-40 at the end of three quarters.

“I felt like I was out there for only about 12 minutes,” Howard said. “The rest of our guys, though, have gotten better on defense.”

Ammons was able to start the fourth quarter, but the Gators couldn’t convert a pair of steals and that gave Canton a chance to crawl closer. Up 52-47, Howard came back with four minutes to go and promptly hit a 3-pointer. Lewis, though, answered for Canton to make it 55-50.

Roosevelt Harris then made two free throws for a 57-50 lead with 2:19 to play. A trap by the Gators resulted in Howard swiping the pass. He later made two free throws for a 59-50 cushion with 33 seconds left.

Ammons, who fouled out with 53 seconds left, led the Gators with 16 points and six rebounds. Howard had 13 points. Chris Miller and Roosevelt Harris had 11 points and five rebounds each.

(G) Forest Hill 56, VHS 54

Vicksburg had three shots to take the lead in the final 22 seconds but Forest Hill held on for a two-point win. It was the Missy Gators’ (2-1) first loss of the season after two wins. They will play in the tournament’s third place game on Saturday.

Down 55-52 with 23.1 seconds left, Vicksburg’s Alexis Hall got fouled on a 3-point attempt. She made the first two shots but missed the second. Donyeah Mayfield grabbed the rebound but couldn’t convert a putback. She got another chance after a Missy Gator steal but missed a 10-foot runner with nine seconds to go.

Forest Hill’s Ashley Wiley then made a free throw with 2.7 seconds left.

Tenisha Hall led Forest Hill, a Class 4A semifinalist last season, with 25 points. Alexus Stirgus had 12 to lead the Missy Gators.

(B) Wingfield 65, Port Gibson 45

Wingfield guard Trency Jackson scored 22 points to lead the unbeaten Falcons (2-0) past Port Gibson (0-3).

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com