BRANDON — The Vicksburg Gators dug a hole for themselves Tuesday night against Brandon. And then, every time it seemed like they had some traction and were about to climb out, the ground gave way beneath their feet and they slid right back down into the pit.

Lagarious White hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as Brandon beat Vicksburg 74-65 Tuesday in a matchup of two of Mississippi’s best boys’ high school basketball teams.

Brandon used a big run just before halftime to open a 10-point lead, and then spent the last two quarters letting the Gators get close enough to sense a comeback before sprinting back out to a safe distance.

“We just couldn’t get over the hump. We made too many mistakes down the stretch,” Vicksburg interim head coach Kelvin Carter said. “(White) got hot. We tried to put different guys on him and give him different looks defensively, and it wasn’t working.”

Vicksburg (17-7) had its eight-game winning streak snapped. It’ll travel to play Brookhaven on Friday night in the regular-season finale, and then will open the Division 4-5A tournament Monday at 7 p.m. against Ridgeland. The division tournament is at Neshoba Central.

Carter said a loss just before the postseason begins might not be the worst thing in the world.

“This is one of those that might be good for us,” Carter said. “It showed us we’ve got some things to work on.”

There was a big-game atmosphere in Brandon’s gym on Tuesday, with a large senior night crowd and two talented teams trading body blows early on. Neither led by more than five points until Brandon (25-2) got hot in the last two minutes of the first half.

Antrell Johnson’s steal and layup keyed an 11-3 run that ended the half and gave the Bulldogs a 39-29 lead heading into the locker room.

“I think turnovers slowed our momentum, and they made some big shots and buzzer beaters,” said Vicksburg’s Kirk Parker, who had 16 points, 18 rebounds, four assists and four blocked shots.

The Gators did a good job of clawing back from the double-digit deficit, but never saw the lead in the second half. They got as close as two, at 46-44 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, and then Brandon’s Quez Williamson answered with a 3-pointer and Kevin Taylor made a fast-break layup to push it back to 51-44.

The Gators got it back down to three points, 53-50, only to give up another 3-pointer by White at the third-quarter buzzer.

White hit another trey with 6:13 left in the fourth quarter to make it 61-51. Brandon never led by more than 11, but the Gators never made another serious charge at the lead. They didn’t make a field goal for nearly three minutes at the start of the fourth quarter and struggled with their shooting throughout the period.

“We had the momentum and then (White) hit that big shot. And then we had some bad miscommunication after that. We have to do a better job communicating,” Parker said.

Raheem Moore added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Gators. Dentarius Richardson finished with 14 points and Joe Thomas scored 13.

Johnson scored 16 points for Brandon and Henry Vo had 13, including four free throws in the last two minutes to help the Bulldogs put the game away. Taylor finished with 12 points.

(G) Brandon 47, VHS 28

The Vicksburg Missy Gators led Brandon at halftime Tuesday, but only scored 11 points in the second half and wound up on the wrong end of a lopsided decision.

Shauntelle Adams scored 10 of her game-high 11 points in the second half for Brandon (13-12), while Alexandria Patton scored 10.

Eriel Bunch and Pleasure King scored six points apiece to lead Vicksburg (4-18). Maya Clay only scored two points, but had 12 rebounds and six blocked shots. Kerricka McRunnells had six steals.

The Missy Gators led 17-16 at halftime, but were outscored 18-8 in the third quarter. With the deficit still a manageable nine points early in the fourth, they went ice cold.

A 15-foot jumper by King with 4:15 left in the game was their only field goal of the period, and first in six possessions. By then, Brandon had a 42-27 lead it was in no danger of losing.

“We were missing our point guard (Jayla Sims). That might have helped us. We were up at halftime and we didn’t break their press like we should have,” VHS coach Barbara Hartzog said. “Pleasure had to go in at point guard. She’s capable of doing it. She’s one we can put anywhere on the court and she’ll do well. But we had to have a whole different game plan. That’s not her fault.”

Vicksburg lost its ninth consecutive game. It will face top-seeded Lanier in the first round of the Division 4-5A tournament next Tuesday at 6 p.m.