The Vicksburg Gators spent the first quarter and a half playing with their food, and the last 2 1/2 quarters eating McComb’s lunch.

The Gators outscored McComb 36-7 over a 12 1/2 minute span in the second and third quarters, and cruised home to a 71-33 boys basketball victory Tuesday.

“A lot of times they want to go too fast, they want to get in a hurry and all that good stuff. We’re just trying to get them to understand what the opponent is doing to us,” Vicksburg coach Kelvin Carter said. “We put ourselves in the situation to execute. The middle was wide open. We’re flying around trying to steal the ball. Just let them give us the ball.”

McComb seemed to do exactly that, more often than not, after hanging around for the first 12 minutes of the game. Vicksburg closed the first half on a 13-5 run, then outscored the Tigers 23-2 in the third quarter.

The Gators turned a steady stream of swats, stops and steals into numerous scoring opportunities and a 60-27 lead.

Eleven players scored a point for the Gators. Jadarius Henderson with 16 and Marlyn Foy with 10 were the only ones in double figures. Ja’Quez Marshall finished with nine points, Ja’Quez Jones scored seven and Mincer Minor had six.

“Sometimes we overhustle. Overhustle ain’t worth nothing. Just take your time. Keep your man in front. Just basic,” Carter said.

Vicksburg (8-6) won its third game in a row as it approached the halfway point of its season. It’ll go on the road to Crystal Springs on Friday night, host Brandon on Dec. 17, and then play its MHSAA Region 2-6A opener against Warren Central on Dec. 20. A two-week holiday break follows, and then nine consecutive region games await beginning Jan. 3 at Columbus.

Carter said he’s happy with what his team has accomplished so far, but knows there is still plenty of work to do.

“Next week the rubber meets the road. We’ve got Brandon Tuesday, which is a tough team, and then we’ve got WC on Friday for the first district game. We’re just trying to build toward that,” Carter said. “It’s preseason, in my mind, just trying to get ready for the regular season. And then the regular season is January. You can win all you want now, but if you can’t win in January then all this is water under the bridge.”