RAYMOND — There’s an old saying that defense wins championships. For Vicksburg High, it’s winning plenty of games right now.

The Gators held Lake to seven total field goals and 20 percent shooting, and cruised to a 67-24 win at the Ranger Tournament at Raymond High School. It was the second straight game in the tournament that Vicksburg has held an opponent under 30 percent shooting, and they’ve allowed a total of 59 points in the two games.

Vicksburg (7-3) also outrebounded Lake 35-13, giving it an 80-39 edge on the boards in the tournament. In addition, the Gators committed just nine turnovers against Lake, and 21 in the two games. They’ll finish their three-game run tonight at 6 against Raymond, then play at division rival Lanier on Friday.

“That matchup zone is really helping us. It causes a lot of problems for the other teams,” VHS coach Dellie. C. Robinson said. “Nobody’s really posting up on us right now. That 1-3-1 is designed to get the outside shooters to beat us, and they’re not doing that.”

Denzell Erves led the Gators with 16 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots — his second straight game with more than a dozen rebounds — Kelsey Howard had 12 points and Maurice Williams scored 11. Debranchia Kennedy led Lake (4-6) with 10 points.

Vicksburg sprinted to a 13-2 lead in the opening minutes of the game and never trailed. After Lake closed to within six points, at 18-12, midway through the second quarter, Williams scored six straight points to key an 8-2 run that gave the Gators a 29-14 lead at halftime.

“Coach told us to jump on them fast. We broke their spirit,” said Williams, who also had four rebounds and three assists.

And, from there, the defense took over. Lake hit one shot from the field in the third quarter and committed seven turnovers. Lake rallied for a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter, but didn’t score in the last five minutes. For the game, Lake was 7-for-35 from the field and 3-for-16 from 3-point range.

Vicksburg outscored the Hornets 28-7 in the second and third quarters as Lake went 2-for-15 from the field during that span.

“We’re just stopping their       penetration. Not letting anybody get to the goal,” Williams said, adding of the success this week, “It’s just defense. That’s all we’re really working on the whole break is defense.”

Raymond girls edge Vicksburg 78-77 in OT

Alexus Stirgus had 23 points and Kamiko Martin added 20 as Vicksburg fell in the Ranger Tournament on Tuesday. Janarrika Martin scored a game-high 24 points and Valencia McFarland added 19 to lead Raymond (11-2). Vicksburg led 38-33 at the half before being outscored 24-6 in the third quarter. The Missy Gators (5-5) exploded for 25 points in the fourth to erase a 13-point deficit and force overtime.

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com