By Cody Thomason
The Vicksburg Post

It seemed like an unremarkable ending was in store for the Warren Central girls game against Jim Hill, as the Lady Vikes had stretched their lead over the Tigers to 42-29 with 3:12 left in the game.

Just as the matchup seemed decided, senior guard T’onna Sims got tangled up with Jim Hill’s Brianna Holcomb and things got scrappy. Players, coaches and security swarmed to break up the fight, and two fans threw themselves into the thick of it.

Sims and Holcomb, along with the two fans involved, were ejected from the game.
A fighting ejection carries with it an automatic two-game suspension, meaning Sims will not play in today’s Red Carpet Basketball Classic game against Starkville or a key division game Wednesday against Provine.

The Lady Vikes and Starkville meet at 4 p.m. at Warren Central.

Warren Central coach Jackie Martin-Glass said that she was too far away to see everything that happened initially, but was disappointed in the altercation.

“They were kind of bumping and shoving, I don’t know who started what, I didn’t see it, I just caught the tail end of it, but it was an unfortunate incident that should never be in basketball,” Martin-Glass said. “Players should be able to control their tempers.”

The game finished in a 46-31 win for Warren Central. The first quarter ended at 12-10, but after a big run in the second quarter the Lady Vikes extended their lead to 26-17 and comfortably extended their lead throughout the game.

“Our players just kind of got it together a little more, started executing,” Martin-Glass said of the run. “Initially, I was trying a lot of different lineups, a lot of different combinations, to get other players a chance to play and see what they can give me. That kind of pushed us back a little bit, and when I got more of the regular combination in we built a lead on them.”

Senior Cocoa Fultz led all scorers with 13 points, and Amber Gaston added nine points and four blocks.
Overall the game left some things to be desired for Martin-Glass, especially heading into Saturday’s showdown with Starkville.

“It was a good win, but I thought we didn’t play to our ability tonight,” Martin-Glass said. “We have a tough game tomorrow, I don’t know if they were trying to put it in reserve mode, I thought we should’ve probably stretched the game out earlier.”

(B) Warren Central 68, Jim Hill 44
Warren Central senior Alfonzo Pollard caught the ball wide open under the rim. Instead of putting up the easy layup, the crowd roared as he spun and ran to the 3-point line and swished the shot off the dribble.

Normally, this would’ve been a risky move, but with the Vikings ahead by 20 points against Jim Hill with 30 seconds left, this was the kind of shot the team could gamble on.
Coach Bruce Robinson said it brought a smile to his face to see some of his reserves get a chance to shine at the end.

“They work hard, a lot of them want to play major minutes, and it’s hard to do that,” Robinson said. “To see them out there and to have fun and keep the crowd involved in what’s essentially a 25-point game, I think its good. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do that so it’s really good.”

The game was tight until late in the third quarter, with the Vikings holding a 34-31 lead with 3:50 left. After that, the floor seemed to open up for Warren Central, and it took control, scoring 35 points in the fourth quarter.

“To be honest I thought it was kind of lackluster,” Robinson said of the victory. “We didn’t play a lot of defense. It’s a matter of discipline, we have to be more disciplined on defense, because it’s January and almost playoff time.”

WC guard Chavis Smith had 12 points and six rebounds, and foward Chris Early scored 11 points and blocked two shots. Forward De’Arius Henyard also had a big game for the Vikings, leading all scorers with 15, including a 3-pointer.

“It’s tremendous that he’s able to knock it down, and we have confidence in him shooting that shot, all we ask is for him to know a good one from a bad one,” Robinson said. “That serves us very well to have a good stretch four, especially when we have Chris Early there on the block.”

On Saturday, the Vikings take on Starkville at 5:30 p.m. in the Red Carpet Basketball Classic.

(G) Callaway 68, Vicksburg 66

Elisha Blackmon totaled 32 points and seven rebounds to lead Callaway past Vicksburg High on Friday.

Pleasure King and Kemari Smith each scored 13 points for Vicksburg, and Yakia Burns netted 11.
The Missy Gators will play Forest Hill Saturday at 1 p.m. in the Red Carpet Classic at Warren Central.

(B) Callaway 75, VHS 52

Ke’Darrion Parson finished with 19 points and six rebounds for Vicksburg, but the Gators lost to Division 4-5A rival Callaway for the 11th consecutive time. VHS will play Port Gibson today at 2:30 p.m. at Warren Central.

RED CARPET BASKETBALL CLASSIC
Saturday, at Warren Central
Admission: $8, good for all games
Girls
1 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. Forest Hill
4 p.m. – Warren Central vs. Starkville
Boys
2:30 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. Port Gibson
5:30 p.m. – Warren Central vs. Starkville