Vicksburg High’s Sedrick Williams (11) drives past Clarence Pendleton and Untarvio Green (24) of Crystal Springs during the Red Carpet Classic. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post),

[2/1/04]Sedrick Williams made his time on the court count.

Battling foul trouble throughout the game, Williams hit two clutch free throws and made a layup off a steal on back-to-back plays to secure Vicksburg’s 65-63 win over No. 11 Crystal Springs in the Red Carpet Classic on Saturday.

“I was messing up all through the game and I told them I was going to pay back,” said Williams, who finished with 11 points. “Every game lately I’ve been getting steals at the end. I knew it was coming right after I turned the ball over, so I had to get back and hustle.”

The win was the fourth in a row for the defending state champion Gators (11-13), who appear to be breaking out of a mid-season slump.

“This was a huge win for us,” VHS coach Dellie Robinson said. “We talked about it last night that we had played some teams, but we hadn’t played a real top 10 team.”

DeMario Smith led Crystal Springs with 17 points.

Brandon Harper came up big for the Gators while Williams, Cedric Parson and Johnny Markham all battled foul trouble. Harper scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the third quarter as Vicksburg took a seven-point lead into the final period.

But Crystal Springs began the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to take a 53-49 lead. The Tigers used a half-court trap to stifle the Gators and force numerous turnovers.

“We always have that lapse where the concentration’s not there, and we make a few mistakes and give a team momentum,” Robinson said.

Crystal Springs led until DeMario Smith was called for a technical for hanging on the rim with 1:08 left. Fredrick Denton hit both free throws for Vicksburg to tie the game at 60.

Down 62-61 with 37 seconds to play, Williams was fouled and made both his free throws to put VHS ahead. Following a timeout, Williams bolted in front of the Tigers’ inbounds pass and took the ball to the rim for a layup.

The Tigers’ Cory Martin made 1 of 2 free throws with 7.8 seconds left to cut the lead to 65-63 and Crystal Springs called a timeout to set up a full-court press. The Tigers forced the turnover, but JeMario Smith’s 12-foot jumper was short as time expired.

(G) C. Springs 53, VHS 52

The Vicksburg Missy Gators made a strong comeback in the fourth quarter but fell just short.

Another big loss for Vicksburg came in the closing seconds when star forward Tiffany Hubbard bruised her tailbone on a collision for a loose ball. Hubbard had to be carried off the floor and her status for upcoming games is unknown.

Four Lady Tigers scored in double figures, led by Tyesha Williams with 14 points. Crystal Springs won despite shooting a slighter lower percentage, and committing more turnovers and fouls than Vicksburg.

Cre’Tarsha Taylor drained a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left that brought the score to 53-52, but Vicksburg was unable to secure the lead.