Before Tuesday’s home game against winless Forest Hill, Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson warned his team to disregard the record.

His warning was prophetic. The Patriots (0-6) battled the Gators down to the end, but the home team pulled away with some key defensive stops and clutch free throw shooting in a 52-49 nailbiter.

Forest Hill led at the end of the first quarter, the half and going into the fourth quarter, but a decisive 8-0 run, on two 3-pointers and a layup by De’Angelo Richardson, pushed the Gators (7-1) out front to stay. Richardson finished with a game-high 17 points.

Forest Hill made one more charge with 2:12 remaining and down 45-36. Nigel Bradley swished a 3-pointer from the corner. William Brown, who led Forest Hill with 12 points, converted a crucial plus-one opportunity after being fouled on a layup, and Bradley hit an 18-foot jumper to cut Vicksburg’s lead to 45-44 with 1:21 left.

Vicksburg’s Edward Davis converted a one-and-one with 30.8 seconds remaining and Richardson and De’Vonta Brisco hit their free throws to close the game out.

“When I was talking to our kids and they were talking about their record, I told them you’ve got to look at who they’ve played,” Robinson said. “I warned my kids that we were going to be in a dogfight for 32 minutes and that’s what it took to win this.”

The key was Forest Hill’s defense, which took Vicksburg’s talented guards out of their groove, contesting every jump shot and

clogging the middle like a greasy drain to take away the drive-and-kick game.

“We wanted to stay in front of them, they’ve got really good shooters and contest every shot with a hand in their face,” Forest Hill coach Milton Ray said. “Our defense was pretty good tonight. We’ve fought hard and I’m proud of them, but we’ve just got to get over that hump ”