JACKSON — Vicksburg got its signature win of the season Monday evening thanks to some big shots by Willie Gibbs and some clutch free throw shooting.

Gibbs hit two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and the Gators made 15 of 18 shots from the free throw line to beat defending Class 6A state champion Starkville 48-44 at the Martin Luther King Classic at Lanier High School. It was the third straight Martin Luther King Day win for the Gators at Lanier and it was the first time they’ve beaten Starkville since winning the Class 5A title game in 2003.

The Gators (16-3) came up big at the key moments in the fourth quarter in the back-and-forth contest. It was something Gators coach Dellie C. Robinson was hoping to see.

“A win like this will do some tremendous things for this team,” an elated Robinson said afterwards. “For the longest time, we seemed to be overly concerned about the big guys inside and getting shots blocked. That led to some bad shots. But we held it together and played decent down the stretch.”

Gibbs and senior forward Kienta Ross loomed large for the Gators. Gibbs’ 3-pointer from the corner with 4:31 left put Vicksburg ahead, 41-39. Two Gibbs free throws made it 43-39 but Starkville (11-5) came back behind 6-foot-8 junior Gavin Ware and guard Jacolby Mobley. The Yellow Jacket pair scored the next five points to put Starkville up, 44-43.

Gibbs answered for the Gators. Still up 44-43, Starkville committed a backcourt violation to give VHS the ball with 1:38 left. Ross, who battled Starkville’s assortment of post players led by Ware, popped out to the key and quickly spotted Gibbs.

“I realized when he lifted his head toward me that he was open,” Ross said. “He knocked down a big shot.”

Gibbs took Ross’ feed and used a two-handed, overhead sling shot. The shot dropped and the Gators had a 46-44 lead with 1:10 to go.

“When I got the ball, I debated what to do,” Gibbs said. “I just went with the pull-up shot. I was confident enough I could hit it.”

It made Robinson’s day.

“No doubt about it,” Robinson said. “It’s exactly what we needed.”

Starkville tried to hold for a last shot but a Gator foul and a tipped pass forced them to reset things. On an inbounds play with 16 seconds left, Steven Brand took a shot from the corner. It missed and Vicksburg’s Dominique Brown rebounded and broke toward the goal. He was fouled with 11.2 seconds left.

Starkville’s Greg Carter used two time outs to freeze Brown but it didn’t work. The senior guard made both shots to put the game away.

Carter said free throws were the difference. Starkville hit just five of 15 attempts at the free throw line.

“It’s been the same story for the last three games with our free throws,” Carter said. “Gavin was real big in the second half, but we couldn’t convert at the end.”

Ware scored 11 of his 14 points in the second half. Mobley had 11 of his 17 points in the first half and two of his buckets gave Starkville a 23-17 lead late in the first half.

Vicksburg went on a 6-0 run in the final minute capped by a Ross tip-in to tie the game at 23 at the break.

“I just had to play aggressive against all those big guys,” said the 6-foot-2 Ross of Starkville, which had a 6-7 and two 6-5 posts to join Ware.

Gibbs finished with 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. Mychal Ammons had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while Ross had eight points, seven rebounds and five assists.