NATCHEZ &045; To hear Vicksburg coach Dellie Robinson talk about it, his team was beaten just about every way it could be.

&uot;Natchez did a better job of executing on the press, on offense and on the boards than we did,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;They completely controlled the boards. That was a big difference.&uot;

Natchez (4-1, 15-8) maintained the top spot in Division 6-5A with a 67-56 win over Vicksburg Tuesday night, bouncing back from a 56-45 loss to Franklin County Friday.

In this, a district game, Natchez wanted a win badly, Bulldog forward Keyshun Tinsley said. The game may prove particularly important for the Bulldogs’ confidence given that it came against Vicksburg, which will host the district tournament Feb. 15-18.

&uot;This is a big win to keep us in first place in the district,&uot; Tinsley said. &uot;We just have to keep our heads on straight, keep playing like this for the district tournament.&uot;

On the floor, Natchez did appear dominant for most of the game, with Natchez taking a comfortable lead through most of the second half.

The difference in the game was evident early on. Natchez’ Keyshun Tinsley got things started for the Bulldogs with 12 points in the first half.

&uot;We came out more intense, not like Friday (against Franklin County) when we were kind of like some of us were intimidated,&uot; Tinsley said. &uot;We wanted to put the press on Friday, but we didn’t get that much chance to. Tonight the press worked well.&uot;

That press set up the Natchez fast break and got some easy opportunities for the Bulldogs, who opened the second quarter with a 17-4 run that broke open the game for good. Natchez led by no fewer than eight points for the rest of the game.

The closest the Gators got was 39-31 with 4:09 remaining in the third ter, when Vicksburg had a 9-3 run to open the second half and it briefly appeared like the Gators might fight their back into it.

&uot;We started the second half well, but we couldn’t keep it up,&uot; Robinson said. &uot;They were just playing harder than we were.&uot;

The Bulldogs came roaring back after that run, taking off on a 12-4 run of their own started by a three-point play from Micheal Chatman and finished off by a steal and fast-break layup from guard Tryon Wilson. Natchez led 51-35 at the end of that run and led 55-40 at the end of the third quarter. Wilson had 10 points in the second half.

One key for the Bulldogs in the second half the foul situation. Natchez entered the double bonus with 2:11 remaining in the third quarter, and the Bulldogs took advantage, going nine-for-14 from the foul line in the second half.

&uot;We were just more aggressive tonight, not like we were scared or anything,&uot; Tinsley said.

Still, despite the win, there were things the Bulldogs’ could have done better, Wilson said.

&uot;We need to work on finishing the game,&uot; Wilson said. &uot;We missed too many layups.

Indeed, after leading by as many as 22 points midway through the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs were outscored 13-2 in the final three minutes with the Natchez backups on the floor. The Bulldogs missed four of six free throw attempts in the that stretch.