Gators fell short in the district championship

Vicksburg High School boy’s basketball team fell short in the district championship 42-38 against Provine.

“It’s hard to beat a good team three times and they kinda got in our heads a little bit by playing bully ball and it paid off because a few guys got out of character so it’s just rough,” VHS Head Coach Kelvin Carter said.

A very slow start in the first quarter left Provine ahead 6-0 over the Gators. Jalen Banks and Tyler Henderson both came into the second quarter quick speed and got the Gators on the board. Banks soon got a big block followed by a nasty dunk from Malik Franklin to narrow the Rams’ lead to 8-6 with 3:22 left in the half.

Henderson got off a easy layup with the assist coming from Kealon Bass as VHS went into halftime trailing 14-11.

Williams came out in the third quarter with a quick layup and a crucial block on defense while Banks also contributed with a turnaround layup. Franklin stole the ball once again and was slow to get back up after a harsh foul from Provine but ended up knocking down both free throws as VHS took a 25-23 lead heading into the fourth.

A few controversial calls made in the fourth quarter helped Provine regain the lead late in the game as they pulled off the win.

The Gators are 27-3 on the year under Head Coach Kelvin Carter and they still have a shot at the state title.

“We’re just going to try to get back into the groove because we still got the same team,” Carter said.

Banks led with 13 points and Franklin added 10. Williams ended the night with eight.