JACKSON — There was a certain sense of inevitability about the Class 6A boys championship game.

Heading in, it was about the matchup. Two of the best teams in Mississippi, Vicksburg and Meridian, with two of the best players, Mychal Ammons and Rodney Hood. Both teams seemed like they belonged on the biggest stage in the state.

As the game wore on Saturday night, however, the feeling of inevitability swung toward the outcome. Meridian was just deeper, more talented and better than the Gators. The Wildcats took control early, never trailed, and put their foot on the gas at exactly the right times to pull away for a 62-47 victory and secure their place in history.

“It’s hard that we finished second, but we’ve just got to accept it,” Vicksburg forward Kienta Ross said. “We could’ve been No. 1, but we’ve just fallen short.”

Meridian (25-2) won its first state championship since 1978, while Vicksburg (27-4) fell short in its first title game since winning the Class 5A crown in 2003. It also marked the end of an era for the Gators. Seven seniors played their last game, including all five starters and sixth man Rashad Gaines.

“Those guys have been playing together since they were in eighth grade. You look at Mike, he’s been to the Big House three times in five years. All the wins… it’s been a great ride and I had the best seat in the house,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said.

Coming into the game, the focus was on the superstar battle between Ammons and Rodney Hood. Both players performed well — Ammons had 24 points and six rebounds, while Hood had 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals — but the outcome swung on the role players.

For Meridian, 6-foot-6 forward Sydney Coleman blocked six shots, including two during a crucial stretch of the second quarter when the Wildcats opened up a 34-22 halftime lead. Devin Cherry added 15 points for Meridian, and three players scored six each.

“That’s been our strong point. We’ve got guys that can come off the bench and score in double figures or get double figures in rebounds. That was the difference,” Meridian coach Randy Bolden said.

For Vicksburg, a lack of contributions from the second-line players was costly. Both of the team’s point guards, Dominique Brown and Rashad Gaines, picked up two fouls in the first half. So did Ross, which took a major rebounding threat out of the game.

Willie Gibbs hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Gators in the first half and Ammons had 11 points, but the rest of the team scored just five points and was 2-for-7 from the field. In the game, Ammons and Gibbs combined for 36 points on 14-for-27 shooting, while everyone else scored 11 points and was 5-for-15 from the field. Meridian also outrebounded the Gators 27-19.

Ammons did his best to keep Vicksburg in it. He scored nine of his team’s first 11 points in the third quarter and cut it to 39-33 on a steal and layup with 2:12 to play. Meridian, though, answered swiftly and decisively.

The Wildcats slowed the Gators’ momentum in the last two minutes of the third quarter, took a 46-38 lead into the fourth, then put it away in the first two minutes of the final period. Matthew Hurn’s basket and a 3-pointer by Cherry made it 51-40 with 6:45 remaining.