Davian Williams, Kamryn Bailey push Vicksburg past Columbus 50-47 in key Region 2-6A showdown

The Gators' dynamic forward-guard duo came up clutch at 'the Swamp' Friday night

VICKSBURG — The Davian Williams and Kamryn Bailey duo have been hard to stop all season for Vicksburg.

When the Gators needed a basket, both Williams and Bailey stepped up as Vicksburg used a fourth quarter rally to get past Columbus 50-47 in a key Region 2-6A matchup at “The Swamp” on Friday night.

“Kamryn has been my savior this year because I’ve never had a big man since I’ve been the head coach here and he’s helped us tremendously, especially tonight,” said Vicksburg coach Kelvin Carter. “He does a good job of finishing around the rim and rebounding. Davian has been our guy scoring and he’s a smart player, and at the end tonight he did a good job of not trying to do too much: took a shot, got fouled and made free throws.”

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There was not much scoring in the opening quarter, but the Gators (15-3, 3-0 Region 2-6A) doubled up the Falcons and led it 8-4 headed to the second.

Columbus (14-4, 2-1 in 2-6A) flipped the script before the half, opening the second quarter with an 11-3 run and hanging on for a 23-19 lead at the break.

The Falcons went tit-for-tat with the Gators in the third quarter and led the game 33-31 lead heading into the fourth.

Columbus held onto the advantage on the scoreboard until the one-minute mark, when Williams drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to give the Gators a 45-43 lead.

Columbus got it back to a one-point game at 48-47 with seven seconds left on a put-back layup from Mike Hood, but they had to put Williams back on the line, and he made both of his free throws to put it away. A last-second, half-court shot from Columbus came up short at the buzzer.

“That's a big region win and now we’ve started district play with three wins at home,” Carter said. “Now we got to go on the road and if we can stick together and do what we do, we will be fine.”

Bailey had a game-high 17 points to lead Vicksburg, while Williams added 14 points for the Gators.

“Just had to hustle and make plays and not go through the motions and believe in each other,” Bailey said. “I had to step up, because it seemed their whole team was my size. So tonight, rebounding was a big factor.”

Hood had 16 points to lead Columbus.

“We didn’t execute anything on offense and they killed us on the offensive glass,” said Columbus coach Phillip Morris. “This game was about points in the paint and rebounds, and if you lose those two battles, you're probably going to lose the game. That’s what it came down to and we didn’t come to play.”

Both teams continue Region 2-6A play on Tuesday as Vicksburg travels to Neshoba Central, while Columbus hosts Callaway.