It’s been a rough, uneven season for the Vicksburg Gators.

Moments of brilliant play and victories have been mixed equally with losing streaks and moments of doubt. Even if they win a state championship, they might not finish with a winning record.

The Gators, though, have done enough to still be standing. They’ll head into the Division 4-5A tournament with a new wrinkle and renewed optimism that they can pull it together for a long postseason run.

“I think we’re somewhere in between” up and down, Vicksburg coach Dellie C. Robinson said. “We played a good game (last week) against Greenville. We’re getting better and our shooting has gotten better. We’re starting to score more points, and that’s going to help.”

Vicksburg (9-15) will face Ridgeland (19-5) in the first round of the division tournament Tuesday night at 6 at Lanier High School in Jackson. The teams split two meetings in the regular season, with Vicksburg taking a 30-28 win on Jan. 8 and Ridgeland coming out ahead 49-22 on Jan. 26.

The Gators, however, have changed since then.

For most of the season they were running a half-court offense centered around junior forward Kirk Parker. The 6-foot-5 big man is a presence in the post and scoring in double figures, but he and his teammates struggled as opponents concentrated their defense on him.

In Friday’s regular-season finale against Brandon, the Gators switched things up by pushing the tempo. Whether they simply caught the Bulldogs off guard or not remains to be seen, but it worked. Parker scored 17 points, senior guard K.J. Murphy had 16, and 6-foot-4 forward Raheam Moore had a career-high 27.

The fast-paced offense, it seems, is here to stay for the Gators.

“We can’t play in the half-court set, so we decided we were going to get out and run and score more points, enjoy the game a little bit more,” Robinson said. “After we realized we couldn’t win just with Kirk getting the ball in the low block, we knew we had to do something different. So now we’re going to fast break.”

Ridgeland is not an easy draw for the Gators, but it isn’t the worst option either. Top-seeded Neshoba Central won the two regular-season meetings with Vicksburg by 24 and 22 points. Neshoba (24-2) will play Lanier (10-12), but could potentially be waiting for the Gators in Friday’s second round.

Monday’s first-round winners will play for the championship Friday at 8:30 p.m. and are guaranteed a spot in the Class 5A state tournament. Monday’s losers will play a third-place game Friday at 5:30 p.m. for the right to advance to the state tournament.

Robinson noted that a lot of the games within the division have been close and that, no matter how the season has played out, there is parity. That means there’s no clear-cut favorite and even his sub-.500 squad could raise up the tournament trophy at the end of the week.

“I really think anybody can win. We’re the only team to have a problem with Neshoba,” Robinson said. “And with Neshoba having to come down here to play, on a given night anybody can win.”

DIVISION 4-5A TOURNAMENT

At Lanier High School

Monday

Girls – Vicksburg vs. Ridgeland, 6 p.m.

Boys – Lanier vs. Neshoba Central, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday

Boys – Vicksburg vs. Ridgeland, 6 p.m.

Girls – Lanier vs. Neshoba Central, 7:30 p.m.