Mary G. Montgomery boys basketball coach Ro Kimble just shook his head when his team turned the ball over with 6.8 seconds left in a tight game at Fairhope on Friday night.

“Lost my mind,” he joked. “I think we are doing it on purpose. I think they are trying to test me, but it’s one of the things we are learning. Hopefully, it’s preparing us for something down the road.”

Despite the late miscue, the fifth-ranked Vikings held on to beat Fairhope 53-50 in a game of Class 7A playoff contenders as Alabama commit Spence Sims’ late 3 fell short in the waning seconds.

MGM improved to 17-2 with the win, snapping a brief two-game losing streak after opening the season with 16 consecutive wins.

“That was a great, great game,” Kimble said. “It was a game of big boys. They’ve got some big boys. We’ve got some big boys. We pounded it inside. They pounded it inside. Great game.”

RELATED: Press-Register Boys Basketball Power 5

RELATED: Friday statewide basketball roundup

DJ Brought scored 10 of his game-high 17 points in the second half to carry the Vikings. Erik Washington followed with 13 and Zion Hunter had 8.

Fairhope (15-4) was led by McRae Taul with 14 points. Jaden Champion and Jackson Gulley each had 10. Sims finished with 9 points on three 3-pointers.

“Whoever got the last possession was going to win the game,” Fairhope coach Solomon Johnson said. “That’s what I thought at least. We had the last possession. We just couldn’t get it to go down. Probably the two best teams in the Mobile area and you get a finish like that? It’s hard to argue with it. Great game.”

Neither team led by more than four points in the first three quarters. MGM led 41-37 entering the fourth and expanded the margin to 53-47 on a pair of Broughton free throws with 21.4 seconds left.

Gulley’s layup and free throw cut the deficit to 53-50. After the Vikings turned it over on an inbounds play, the Pirates had one more shot. Sims’ off-balance 3 from the corner was short.

“We couldn’t quite get over the hump,” Johnson said. “They have some real good players, and they made more plays tonight.”

Mary G. Montgomery opens Area 1 play at home Tuesday against Davidson. Fairhope hosts Cottage Hill on Tuesday before opening Area 2 play at Foley next Friday.