JACKSON —Vicksburg High played a tight first half against Ridgeland in the first round of the Division 4-5A tournament, however, the Titans turned up their offensive intensity coming out of halftime and won 45-34 on Tuesday night.

“We knew what Ridgeland was going to do. They’re going to be patient, they’re going to run their offense and get the shot they wanted,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said.

The Gators (8-16) will now face elimination when they play Neshoba Central (24-3) in the tournament’s consolation game. The teams will play Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Lanier High School in Jackson. Neshoba Central beat Vicksburg twice this season, by 24 and 22 points.

Ridgeland (20-5) will play Lanier (12-12) in the championship game Friday at 8:30 p.m.

Junior forward Raheam Moore continued to play at a high level by leading the Gators in scoring with 12 points Tuesday. Senior guard Kenneth Murphy added 10 points, with seven of those coming in the first quarter.

After only being down 21-16 at halftime, Vicksburg’s first three possessions of the third quarter resulted in turnovers. Moore ended Vicksburg’s scoring drought on a close range field goal.

Ridgeland’s Jonah Simpson carved up Vicksburg’s 2-3 zone defense to get easy layups at the rim. He scored a team-high 11 points, of which nine came in the third quarter.

“Certainly we’re trying to keep (Simpson) out of the lane,” Robinson said. “If we could’ve kept (Simpson) out of the lane with his penetration I think we would’ve had a great opportunity to win the basketball game.”

Despite Simpson’s third quarter, the Gators held him scoreless in the first half. Trae Thompson assisted Simpson in Ridgeland’s third quarter scoring efforts and added another four points in the paint.

“The third quarter was bad for us. We couldn’t score and we couldn’t keep them out of the lane,” Robinson said.

In the final quarter, the Gators forced shots and had stale ball movement on the offensive end. Robinson said when his team forced shots it only put the game further out of reach by giving the Titans a chance to score off of missed field goals.

Throughout the season, teams that have beaten the Gators have done so in large part by denying big man Kirk Parker the ball down low. Ridgeland was no exception as it held Parker to just seven points in the second and fourth quarters.

Joe Thomas and Trey Warren rounded out VHS’ scorers with a combined five points.

Division 4-5A Tournament

At Lanier High School

Girls

Friday

Neshoba Central vs. Ridgeland, 4 p.m.

Vicksburg vs. Lanier, 7 p.m.

Boys

Friday

Vicksburg vs. Neshoba Central, 5:30 p.m.

Lanier vs. Ridgeland, 8:30 p.m.