Tuesday’s home opener for the Vicksburg Gators was more or less a tune up for Thursday night’s clash with Class 5A power Provine.

The Gators used a fast-striking offense in the first half and then clamped down defensively in the second to post a 70-38 rout of visiting Madison Central. The win was the third straight by more than 30 points for the Gators (3-0).

Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said, however, the Gators must be sharper when the Rams visit in tommorrow night.

“We only have one day to prepare for them. I wish it were two,” Robinson said. “We had too many turnovers tonight and we have to play better than that to beat Provine. We have to protect the basketball against them because they are so good in their half-court defense. They really play the passing lanes well.”

Mychal Ammons, a 6-foot-6 forward who signed with South Alabama last week, was brilliant again for the Gators on Tuesday. He torched the Jaguars for 32 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and three assists.

“I was going pretty hard after the rebounds,” Ammons said.

Now there is Provine.

“They should be a pretty good test for us,” Ammons said. “They have a pretty good point guard in Jarvis Summers. He signed with Ole Miss. Last year, they hurt us with their pressure. But I think my guys are much better about handling the pressure this year.”

Kienta Ross and Josh Gaskin were also solid against Madison Central. Ross collected 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Like Ammons and the rest of the Gators, he’s anxious to see how they match up with Provine.

“We’re going to have to play a lot of help side defense and stop the point guard,” Ross said.

Vicksburg broke out to an 11-0 lead against Madison Central and then extended it to 23-10 after Brown knocked down his second 3-pointer of the first quarter.

Madison made a small charge behind seven points from Chase Carroll to get back within single digits at 31-23. The Gators responded with a 15-2 run fueled by Ammons, who had eight points and pulled down seven rebounds during the spurt.

Up 46-27 at the half, Vicksburg worked on its defense and held the Jaguars to just 11 points in the second half.

“We did a poor job of switching screens in the first half so in the second half, we switched all screens and that made a big difference,” Robinson said.

The Jaguars were led by Brice Rowe’s 13 points.