[1/29/03]For 19 minutes Tuesday night, Vicksburg High and Northwest Rankin were locked in a high-octane shooters’ duel that looked like it might come down to the wire.

For the last 13 minutes, it was anything but.

VHS (18-7) outscored Northwest 39-12 over the last 13 minutes of the game and cruised to an 84-51 victory.

Devin Jones led four Gators in double figures with 22 points. L.J. Scott added 18 points and 13 rebounds, Michael Smith and Jamaal Thomas each had 11 points, and Sedrick Williams had nine points.

“Too much Vickbsurg and too little Northwest Rankin,” Northwest coach Gary Post said. “We got tired, got in foul trouble, missed some shots, got a little frustrated. But Vicksburg stepped it up and was the cause of it.”

The teams traded 3-pointers and dunks throughout a back-and-forth first half that ended with the Gators ahead 39-35.

The second half started at the same quick pace, but it soon turned into a rout.

Jones hit a 3-pointer and then a layup, after Roy Williams stole an inbounds pass and dished to him under the goal, to trigger an 11-2 run that put VHS ahead 56-44 with about 2 minutes to play in the third.

Three steals by Roy Williams on consecutive possessions early in the fourth quarter triggered another big run, and allowed the Gators to put the game away. VHS scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter to open a 66-46 lead and pulled away from there.

Dallas Sutton had 14 points to lead Northwest (13-9).

(G) Northwest Rankin 63, VHS 55

Vicksburg shook off its dreadful performance at the Red Carpet Classic on Saturday, but not a bad third quarter against Northwest Rankin.

The Lady Cougars (20-3) outscored VHS 21-8 in the period, and went on to lead by as many as 20 points before holding off a late Missy Gator rally.

Northwest opened the third quarter with a 17-0 run and took a 47-27 lead. VHS (13-12) fought back, however, and cut it to a five-point deficit, 56-51, with 2:48 to play.

That was as close as they got. Northwest was able to hit a couple of free throws and stopped the Missy Gators’ momentum.

Tricia Dart led VHS with 22 points, and Tiffany Hubbard had 12. Stephanie Boggans led Northwest with 14 points.

(B) Deer Creek 80, Tall. Acad. 64

Deer Creek outscored Tallulah Academy 45-26 in the second half to earn a Conference 5-A victory.

Brad Gustafson led Tallulah with 25 points, Preston Walker had 15, and Cole Grissom added 10.

Chris Welch had 25 points for Deer Creek.

(B) SIA 47, Humphreys 44

Chase Mahalitc scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Sharkey-Issaquena Academy (16-9, 8-6 Conference 5-A) held on for the win. SIA led 42-29 entering the fourth quarter, but only scored five points in the final period.

(B) St. Aloysius 74, Bogue Chitto 59

Kyle Richards had a game-high 26 points and Alan Ebersole added 11 as St. Aloysius won for the fourth time in five games.

Irrie Catchings led Bogue Chitto with 15 points, and Michael Blackwell had 12.

(B) Franklin 52, PCA 34

Franklin outscored PCA 21-11 in the third quarter and went on to beat the Eagles (9-16, 4-10 Conference 5-A).

Joseph Ivey led PCA with nine points, Michael Warren grabbed nine rebounds, and Chip Lofton had six steals. Myles Stevens had a game-high 19 points for Franklin.

(G) Bogue Chitto 67, St. Aloysius 30

Bogue Chitto outscored St. Al 16-4 in the second quarter and rolled from there. Jessica Melton scored a game-high 23 for Bogue Chitto.

Sarah Kerut had 11 points for St. Al, which was missing two starters to illness.

(G) WC 90, Wingfield 57

Aleshia Stamps had 14 points and Saleda Montgomery and Cookie Johnson each added 10 as Warren Central (11-13) routed Wingfield (6-17). Every WC player scored at least four points.

Courtney Cherry led Wingfield with 12 points, and Shayna Wilson added 10.

(G) Humphreys 58, SIA 23

Humphreys blew open a close game by outscoring Sharkey-Issaquena 24-2 in the second quarter. Ashley Long led Humphreys with 24 points, while Keri Smith had seven points for SIA (12-16, 7-7 Conference 5-A).

(G) PCA 62, Franklin 28

Brady Willis had 15 points and nine rebounds as Porters Chapel (27-5, 12-2 Conference 5-A) routed Franklin. Annie Beaugh added 15 points for PCA, Brittany Willis had 13, Brittany White had 10, and Blair Purvis grabbed seven rebounds.

The Lady Eagles were 7-for-11 from 3-point range.