Vicksburg’s boys have gone from being a dominating team above the rim to a potentially dominating team below it.

Brookhaven found that out Thursday night as the Panthers (2-1) had clawed back to tie the Gators at 54 with 4:09 left. Then the Gators went small.

With no player standing above 5-foot-10, the Gators went on the attack and the result was a decisive 16-2 run that led to a 72-58 win. Vicksburg is now 3-0 despite losing all of its scoring from last year’s team, which finished 28-4 as the Class 6A runner-up.

No wonder Gators coach Dellie C. Robinson staved off retirement.

“We’re so little, but that’s who we are,” Robinson said with a laugh about his team, which features eight sophomores in a nine-man rotation. “We’re not big enough to play a 2-3 zone, and we’re not there yet as a man-to-man team, but we can play 84 feet, or 94 feet, depending on the gym. No doubt about it, these guys can cover some ground, and our point guard (Edward Davis) is as good as they come.”

Brookhaven coach Preston Wilson can attest to that.

“Vicksburg has some great guard play,” Wilson said. “They are quick.”

Davis led the Gators with 22 points, but it was Romeo Carter and DeAndre King, who came up big for the Gators after Brookhaven had rallied from 10 points down to tie it. King hit a 7-foot jumper to put Vicksburg ahead for good and then Davis came from behind with a crucial steal to set up a 3-pointer for Carter and a 59-54 lead.

Two free throws by Jemere Wilson kept Brookhaven alive at 61-56, but the Gators closed out the game with an 11-2 run. Carter and King accounted for nine of

Vicksburg’s points.

“We know who to get the ball to,” Carter said of his fellow sophomore Gators.

Carter finished with 15 points. DeAngelo Richardson had 13 and King had 10.

Brookhaven jumped out to a 10-3 lead to start the game. Vicksburg rallied with an 18-point second quarter as seven different Gators scored. The Panthers got 18 points from Glen Buie and 13 from Khalil Newton.