FERRIDAY, La. – Basketball fans west of the Mississippi got a taste of the upcoming season Saturday at the Concordia Jamboree at Ferriday High School.

In games of two 10-minute halves, the Sicily Island Tigers defeated the Block Bears 26-21, the Lady Bears defeated the Lady Tigers 21-12, the Vidalia Lady Vikings defeated the Lady Trojans 23-15 and the Vikings edged the Trojans 25-24.

Vidalia’s Jarvis Vaughn scored the Vikings’ first 6 points and finished the game with a team-high 10 to help lead his team to a preseason win over rival Ferriday.

The Trojans led for the majority of the first half, taking a 16-14 lead into halftime.

&uot;We got down, but we didn’t give up,&uot; said Vidalia coach Robert Sanders.

Ferriday had a chance at the end when Jason Scott received the inbound pass with 1.1 seconds left. His shot from across the gym bounced off the front of the rim, however, leaving the score 25-24.

&uot;I thought we’d be better prepared than we were,&uot; Sanders said. &uot;We need more patience, and our defense needs work.&uot;

Marvin Harper came off the bench to score a team-high six points for Ferriday, all in the second half.

A 13-point second half gave the Lady Vikings a preseason victory over Ferriday, which managed only five points after the half.

&uot;Our shots are not there yet,&uot; said Vidalia coach Lillian Johnson. &uot;Our offense is not working like it should. Our defense was pretty good, though.

&uot;This was good for us,&uot; she said of the exhibition. &uot;Now we can go home, watch the film, talk about it and get out on the court and work on some things.&uot;

&uot;I didn’t like anything I saw,&uot; said Ferriday coach Lisa Abron. &uot;We didn’t play good at all.&uot;

Brendy Ellis led Vidalia with six points, while LaShaunda Mitchell, Ramona Washington and Natalie McGraw each scored four.

McGraw left the game with an ankle injury, but the seriousness of the injury was not known.

Monique Jones led the Lady Trojans in scoring with seven.

Ferriday’s boys and girls teams begin their regular seasons Tuesday at home against Newellton.

Vidalia’s boys and girls teams host Natchez Friday.

In the earlier games, Donald Dunbar had nine points for Sicily Island in the Tigers’ win over Block. Bears Howard Hatten and Charles Branch each had seven.

Brittain Brown had eight points in the Lady Bears’ win, and Tonya Kerry and Trina Branson each had five for the Lady Tigers.