Basketball roundup: Gators clinch No. 1 seed for district tournament; Port Gibson wins at the buzzer

Published 10:21 pm Friday, January 20, 2023

JACKSON — The Vicksburg Gators checked off the first box on their postseason to-do list on Friday night.

Davian Williams made three 3-pointers and scored 11 of his team-high 21 points in the third quarter as the Gators beat Provine 68-59 in a showdown of two teams ranked in the top 10 in Mississippi boys’ basketball.

Tyler Henderson added 13 points for the Gators. Malik Franklin and Jaylin Jackson scored nine apiece, and Kameryn Bailey had eight.

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Vicksburg (23-2, 6-0 MHSAA Region 4-5A)) won its 10th consecutive game, with two of those wins coming against Provine (17-7, 2-3). Vicksburg clinched the No. 1 seed for the MHSAA Region 4-5A tournament next month.

Vicksburg has three regular-season games remaining — at home vs. Forest Hill on Jan. 24 and Jim Hill on Jan. 27, and at Clinton on Feb. 3.

Port Gibson 50, Franklin County 49
Kameron Brown hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer and finished with 23 points to lead Port Gibson past Franklin County in a matchup of the top two teams in Region 7-3A.

Port Gibson (12-5, 6-0 Region 7-3A) won its fifth game in a row, and second this season against Franklin County (15-6, 4-2).

Rakeem Davis added 11 points for the Blue Waves and Daniel Hedrick scored seven. Brown had eight of his points in the fourth quarter, including the buzzer-beating game-winner as time expired.

Michael Covington led Franklin County with 17 points.

Girls
Vicksburg 70, Provine 22
The Vicksburg Missy Gators bounced back from a rare loss by taking out some frustration on Provine.
Vicksburg outscored Provine 41-3 in the first quarter and rolled past the winless Lady Rams (0-15, 0-4 MHSAA Region 4-5A).

JaNa Colenburg made six 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 18 points. Janiah Caples scored 16 points, and added eight assists and six steals.

Layla Carter finished with 14 points and five steals, and Kierra James had 12 points.

Vicksburg’s starters shot 28-for-45 (62.2 percent) from the field, despite only playing about two quarters.

Vicksburg had an eight-game losing streak snapped in its previous outing against Callaway. It can secure at least the No. 2 seed for the Region 4-5A tournament by beating either Forest Hill or Jim Hill in its last two region games.

Central Hinds 52, St. Aloysius 33
Kathryn Strong and Stella Havard scored 18 points apiece, and Central Hinds made five 3-pointers in the first half to beat a feisty St. Aloysius Lady Flashes squad.

McKenzie Cole scored eight of her team-high 13 points in the first quarter for St. Al. Maddy McSherry added seven points.