The Vicksburg Gators played their best game in weeks to get a win they needed in the worst kind of way.

Mincer Minor scored 10 points, Kris Washington and Ja’Quez Jones had nine each, and the Gators used a balanced effort across the board to beat Warren Central 52-35 in their boys basketball rivalry game Tuesday.

Vicksburg (9-11, 1-4 MHSAA Region 2-6A) snapped a five-game losing streak and won for the first time since Dec. 10.

“We needed it bad. This one hopefully turns us around,” Vicksburg coach Kelvin Carter said. “This stretch here can make us or break us. We’re going to Callaway (on Friday) and need that one as bad as we needed this one, because we’re dead last right now. Fourth, fifth and sixth, we don’t know where it’s going to go. All of these games are crucial right now.”

Nine players scored for the Gators, and a couple of them contributed in other stat categories as well. Javeion Perkins and Ja’Quez Marshall finished with six points each, while Perkins grabbed 12 rebounds and Marshall had 15.

Jadarius Henderson also had six points.

Carter said it was something that had been missing during the losing streak and a number of other close losses this season. Seven of Vicksburg’s 11 losses have been by seven points or less.

“I was saying if I can just get a couple of rebounds here and a couple of points there, that team concept is going to come together. They really showed a lot of resilience tonight,” Carter said.

Warren Central (5-11, 2-2) had won five of seven games, but has now lost its last two. This one turned on a nightmarish third quarter in which the Vikings only scored one basket — a layup by Nash Morgan with 3:24 left.

Vicksburg outscored Warren Central 13-2 in the period to take a five-point halftime lead to 16. The Vikings got back on track in the fourth quarter, but never got their deficit back to single digits.

Jaylon Winters was Warren Central’s leading scorer, with nine points. Morgan scored eight, and Micah Moore and Robert Williams had six each.

“We made shots and they didn’t. Our defense was pretty solid and we rebounded. We didn’t give them second chances,” Carter said. “Rebounding and defense separated us, and we made easy shots, and we made free throws down the stretch.”

Warren Central will be on the road for its next three games — Friday at Neshoba Central, Jan. 21 at Callaway, and Jan. 24 at Ridgeland.

Vicksburg has back-to-back road trips to Jackson, to play Callaway on Friday and McLaurin Monday in the MLK Day tournament at Lanier High School. After that, the Gators will host Columbus, the top-ranked team in Class 6A, on Jan. 21.