Each quarter, the Vicksburg Gators watched the lead they’d built dwindle down to almost nothing. Then they turned into closers.

The Gators finished the second, third and fourth quarters with big runs and beat back Lanier 63-55 Friday night for a big division win. Vicksburg (8-10, 2-1 Division 4-5A) snapped a four-game losing streak and pulled above .500 in the division with its next three league games coming on the road.

“It was a huge win for us,” Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. “You’ve got to win some of these district games at home. If we can go on the road and steal one, we’ll be in good shape.”

Kenneth Murphy led the Gators with 20 points, Dentarius Richardson scored 10, and Kirk Parker finished with 16. Parker scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, including six in the game’s decisive run.

Denzell McDuffey led Lanier (10-10, 1-2) with 23 points, including 14 in the second half. Taymon Draper scored 10 and Greg Divinity scored all seven of his in the fourth quarter.

The Gators ended the second quarter on a 9-0 run and the third on an 8-1 run. Both times, Lanier chipped away at its deficit through the first half of the following period.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs finally tied it at 49 when Divinity split a pair of free throws. The Gators responded by scoring 10 of the game’s next 12 points to take control for good. Parker and Murphy each had two baskets during that spurt.

As Lanier cranked up its press, the Gators did a good job of breaking it and converting easy fast break baskets. Murphy’s final basket of the game, a layup with 19.4 seconds left, gave Vicksburg a 63-54 lead and all but sealed the win.

“We did pretty good,” Murphy said. “We had a good week of practice. We worked hard on the press and executed when it came down to it.”

The Gators finished the game by outscoring Lanier 16-6 over the last four minutes. Combined, they outscored Lanier 33-9 in their three quarter-ending runs.

“We had to fight,” Robinson said. “We knew Lanier was quick and fast, but we showed a lot of energy and that’s something we haven’t been showing lately.”

(G) Lanier 66, Vicksburg 61

The Vicksburg Missy Gators led for 26 ½ minutes Friday night, but the last 5 ½ — and the victory — all belonged to Lanier.

Lanier outscored the Missy Gators 16-6 over the last six minutes to erase a small deficit and walk away with a comfortable win. Keshuna Luckett and Brittany Rose scored 23 points apiece for the Lady Bulldogs (11-9, 1-2 Division 4-5A) and Destiny Welch added 10.

Luckett’s layup with 5:26 remaining gave Lanier its first lead of the game, at 56-55, and it never trailed again.

“We didn’t set up our press break and had three turnovers right in a row and they scored off of every one,” Vicksburg coach Barbara Hartzog said. “It was close. A couple of possessions will hang you, and that’s what happened.”

Karry Callahan led Vicksburg (10-9, 1-2) with 17 points, 22 rebounds and four assists. Micha Williams hit five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, Maya Clay had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Keiyana Gaskin had nine points and seven rebounds.

Monique Jones added eight rebounds for VHS, which attempted fewer free throws than Lanier made. Vicksburg was 9-for-14 at the foul line, while Lanier was 17-for-25.

Despite the loss, Hartzog said she was pleased with where her team stands in the grand scheme of things. Through the first round of division games, she said, it seems as if all of the teams are evenly matched.

“It’s just going to be who plays well that last week,” she said, referring to the division tournament next month.