MOREAUVILLE, La. — The Vidalia High School Vikings got off to a slow start, but they turned the momentum in their favor in the second half as they defeated the Avoyelles High School Mustangs 77-60 Tuesday night in an LHSAA District 3-3A game.

Vidalia trailed Avoyelles 13-12 after one quarter of play and despite scoring 21 points in the second quarter, the Vikings had just a one-point lead over the Mustangs at halftime, 33-32.

“We did kind of get off to a sluggish start. But we outscored them in the next three quarters to take command of the game,” Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said.

In the third quarter, the Vikings ramped up the defensive pressure and outscored Avoyelles 23-13 for a 56-45 lead. They put the game away with a 21-15 advantage in the fourth quarter.

“It really wasn’t until about the middle of the third quarter (that we got momentum on our side),” Sanders said. “We changed out of our full-court and half-court defenses. We changed from a 2-3 to more of a 1-2-2. It got them out of rhythm. We got turnovers out of our full-court defense.”

Four Vikings players scored in double figures, led by Julius Wilson with a game-high 18 points. Demarco Brown and Malik Jefferson finished with 17 points each and Jarred Turner contributed with 12 points.

Sanders said that his team always tries to have three players score in double figures and that having four do that is a bonus. He added that he only played six players in the game, but they all contributed.

“They all played up to their capability, so there were no surprises,” Sanders said.

Vidalia (15-12, 10-3) wraps up its regular season with a district road game at 7 p.m. Friday at Jena High School.