JACKSON — Thursday’s game against nationally-ranked Provine was as much a measuring stick as a basketball game for Vicksburg High.

The Gators stacked up well for a while, but ultimately found they still have a ways to go to reach elite status.

LSU signee Jalen Courtney and Jarvis Summers both had double-doubles, four Provine players scored in double figures, and the Rams handed Vicksburg its first loss of the season, 74-57.

Courtney had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Summers had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Provine (3-0), ranked No. 22 in this week’s USA Today poll. Marcelis Hansberry scored 19 points and Roger Woods finished with 16.

Vicksburg (5-1) got 21 points and nine rebounds from Kelsey Howard, but couldn’t overcome 20 turnovers and a suffocating Provine defense that held the Gators to 32 percent shooting.

Christopher Miller added 12 points for VHS and Mychal Ammons had 10.

“We just didn’t take care of the basketball. That’s our biggest problem,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. “Certainly Provine deserves to be the number one team in the state because they outplayed us. I’m pleased with the effort. The mental part of the game, we just didn’t handle well.”

The game swung on a three-minute stretch late in the first half.

Vicksburg erased an early 10-point deficit and pulled even at 26-26 on a free throw by Mychal Ammons with just over three minutes to go. Shortly afterward, Ammons went to the bench with his second foul and the Gators went cold.

Hansberry’s 3-pointer from the left corner capped an 11-2 run that gave Provine a 38-28 lead at halftime. Vicksburg didn’t hit a shot from the field in the last three minutes, and never got the deficit back into single digits. Provine didn’t really pull away, though. Its biggest lead was 19 points, at 74-55 in the final minute.

“We never could recover from that,” Robinson said of Provine’s first-half run.

The Gators don’t have a lot of time to recover from the final outcome. Thursday’s game began a tough five-game stretch over the next two weeks that includes games against Canton, Forest Hill, Jim Hill and Raymond.

“It was a pretty good test,” Ammons said. “It showed us where we really are and what we need to work on. We’ll take it as a learning lesson.”

(G) VHS 58, Provine 50

An early surge, a late surge, and a whole lot of Donyeah Mayfield was enough to give Vicksburg another win.

Mayfield had season-highs with 23 points and 20 rebounds, and the Missy Gators (5-1) recovered after squandering most of a double-digit lead to beat Provine (0-2).

Vicksburg jumped out to a 19-6 lead after one quarter and held Provine to 20.5 percent shooting (7-for-34) in the first half. The Lady Rams clawed their way back into the game, though, getting as close as four points late in the third quarter.

A technical foul for too many players on the court spurred a 9-2 run that pushed the lead back into double digits, and the Missy Gators were never threatened again.

“We ran the floor well. We missed a few opportunities but fought back after they got close,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said.

Tanasha Hamblin led Provine with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Shenice Clayton hit three 3-pointers in the last two minutes and finished with 14 points.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com