Brookhaven sends Gators into division tournament with a loss

Published 11:24 pm Friday, February 9, 2018

The Vicksburg Gators took a narrow loss at the hands of Brookhaven on senior night, as a late comeback fell short and they lost 63-55 in their regular-season finale.

Brookhaven’s lead hovered around 10 for much of the game. It looked like the Gators might have had a comeback in store after cutting it to 61-55, but the Panthers were able to get a quick bucket and run out the clock for a victory.

Vicksburg (11-15) had a three-game winning streak snapped. It will host Ridgeland in the first round of the Division 4-5A tournament on Tuesday night.

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“It was just another one of those times you have a mental lapse at the wrong time,” Vicksburg coach Kelvin Carter said. “You play hard, but just IQ wise we should’ve made better decisions, and kind of rushed a lot of things on offense instead of focusing on defense, and we definitely have to get back to focusing on the defensive side of the ball. That’s what helped us win six of the last eight games.”

Guard Ke’Darrion Parson showed out on senior night, leading Vicksburg in scoring with 24 points. Any time the Gators were struggling to score, the ball found its way to Parson, whether it was a catch-and-shoot opportunity or a drive to the rim.

It was Parson’s ninth consecutive game scoring in double figures, and the 18th time he’s done it this season.

“He’s been working hard, pretty much on the offensive and defensive end, and I have to find a couple of ways to get him out a little bit and get him a breather,” Carter said. “At times he is our most efficient guy on offense, so you kind of have to leave him in there, but he stepped up big. He gives us a lot of energy, and he’ll come in at practice tomorrow and give us a lot of energy. He works super hard.”

Jaymeson Norfort added eight points for the Gators, along with three blocks, and Darius Johnson finished with eight points as well. Carter felt that for the Gators to do better defensively, they had to do a better job at preventing penetration and keep the opposing team’s guards from driving as much.

“Jaymeson is wonderful on the back line, but when you get him in foul trouble early, we’re in trouble,” Carter said. “You know that he kind of makes everything go back there, and I’d much rather see those guards picking up the foul up top than him picking up the foul on the back, because it just kind of hurts us when he’s out of the game.”

Though they came up short on Friday, Carter was proud of his senior class. Parson, Kamari English and Alonzo Blackmore all were honored in the senior night ceremony.

“It’s always a privilege to see guys who have been working hard and been loyal for you to be able to have their just dues on senior night,” Carter said.

(G) Brookhaven 65, Vicksburg 48

The Vicksburg Missy Gators fought hard against Brookhaven, but ultimately came up short in what turned out to be a physical senior night.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight in here,” coach Troy Stewart said. “They’re a good team, they’re one of the better 5A teams in the state right now, and we knew that in order to play them well, we could not let them take that kind of lead. We were in chase mode all night long. Even when we made the two runs, and we dropped it to 12, you expend so much energy trying to get back in the game, that when you finally get to that point, you can’t finish the game.”

The Missy Gators looked better in the second half, with Sha’kora Knight knocking down a couple of 3-pointers to help cut the deficit.

“We were down by 22 at half, I think we lost by 17,” Stewart said. “We played them even in the second half.”

Stewart said that if the Missy Gators’ first half matched the level of their second half, it could’ve been a completely different game, but he also gave credit to Brookhaven’s team and its coach Preston Wilson.

“They played extremely hard,” Stewart said. “They are what we are aspiring to be.”

For the senior night ceremony, Pleasure King, Shondrea Parson and Eriel Bunch were all honored.

“I’m proud of the three ladies that decided to stay with me,” Stewart said. “I think that in order to start the program, start the way we’re trying to get started with building this program, I couldn’t have asked for a better set of players.”

The Missy Gators (13-12) will host Germantown (17-8) in the first round of the Division 4-5A tournament Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Vicksburg and Germantown split their two meetings this season, with each winning on the other’s home court. The winner this time will advance to next Friday’s championship game and earn a berth in the Class 5A state tournament.

The loser, meanwhile, will face the loser between Callaway and Ridgeland in the third-place elimination game on Thursday. The top three teams from the division advance to the state tournament, with the top two also getting to host their first game there.

DIVISION 4-5A TOURNAMENT
At Vicksburg High
Monday
6 p.m. – Callaway vs. Ridgeland (girls)
7:30 p.m. – Callaway vs. Germantown (boys)
Tuesday
6 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. Germantown (girls)
7:30 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. Ridgeland (boys)