Hosea Butler of Columbus drives the lane against Vicksburg’s Dewayne Jackson Wednesday. (Photo by Joe Ray Roberson)

[02/22/01] COLUMBUS After scouting Columbus High on Monday, Vicksburg coach Dellie Robinson knew the Falcons’ defense was strong.

After playing them Wednesday, his regards were even higher.

The Falcons’ smothering man-to-man defense held Vickbsurg (24-11) to 27 percent shooting and prevented the Gators from ever getting into a rhythm in their 53-36 win in the satellite game of the North State tournament. The loss eliminated the Gators from the postseason.

“They played such tenacious defense, we couldn’t get into our offense,” Robinson said. “We couldn’t make any outside shots because they were right in our face and we couldn’t get the ball down low.”

Jason Walker and Justin Henry paced Vicksburg with eight points each and as poorly as Vicksburg shot, the lead did not balloon into double figures until midway through the fourth quarter.

Added to their woes, the Gators hit just 7 of 17 free throws, including misses on the front end of three straight one-and-ones with Columbus’ lead only six points. Vicksburg connected on just 5 of 17 3-pointers and was hampered by foul trouble all night.

Leading scorer Demetrick Allen scored just six points, but had three fouls in the first half and quickly picked up his fourth early in the third quarter. The Gators’ two other top scorers, Gerrick Durrell and Miguel Henyard, were held to eight points.

Durrell fouled out one minute into the fourth quarter and Henyard was ill.

“Coach (Sammy Smith) told us at halftime to just keep playing hard defense and things would fall into place,” said Columbus’ Damien Veal, who led the Falcons (27-5) with 18 points. Hosea Butler added 15.

Despite all the problems, the Gators trailed just 32-26 after Allen hit four straight points to start the fourth quarter. But after the short Vicksburg spurt, Columbus went on a quick 6-0 run to open a 12-point lead.

Walker’s second 3-pointer of the night cut the lead back to single digits, 38-29, with 4:11 left. Columbus then raced to a 13-3 run to put the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter.

“They got real physical,” Walker said of the Falcons’ defense. “In the South, we’re used to just touching someone and getting a foul and we were playing light. We weren’t playing to their ability. They were playing rough and we just sat there and let them take it.”

There were 45 fouls and 45 free throws. Columbus nailed 21 of 28 from the line, including 13 of 13 in the fourth quarter.

“We knocked them down this time, but we haven’t been all season,” Smith said of his team’s free-throw shooting. “In these types of situations, the game comes down to execution, free throws and turnovers. I thought we did a good job on all of those tonight.”

Vicksburg never led, but Walker’s first 3-pointer off the backboard as time expired in the first quarter cut the early Falcons’ lead to 14-10.

The hosts extended the lead to 22-15 at halftime and kept at least a six-point advantage throughout the second half.

“They are one of the best ballclubs we’ve played all season long,” Robinson said.

When asked if Columbus had the best defense he’s seen this season, he said, “There’s no doubt about that.”