FERRIDAY – During the Christmas holidays, many teams have a tendency to develop rust as a result of a layoff or break in the usual routine.

The Ferriday Trojans (8-7) exhibited no such signs of that Friday night, as they used their trademark up-tempo style to pound the Sicily Island Tigers into submission, 74-47 in front of the home crowd.

&uot;The last few ballgames we have been turning the ball over constantly, and that’s one of the things we tried to work on tonight,&uot; Ferriday coach James Davis said. &uot;We were able to get a lot of turnovers tonight out of our full-court man-defense.&uot;

Senior Jackie Thomas scorched the island defense with 29 points, many at the line, as he converted 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

To compliment that, he added eight rebounds and six steals.

&uot;We look for Jackie to be consistent night in and night out, when he is, we shouldn’t have a problem inside.

And they didn’t, especially early in the game, when control was seized via a 27-7 first quarter. By the time the fourth rolled around, it had gotten out of hand to the tune of 66-32.

LaKendrick Nix had the hot hand from downtown, nailing four of the team’s five 3-pointers on the way to a 17-point night. Calvin Thomas finished with nine, while Chris Watson chipped in with seven.

Gary Washington and Denus Jordan each had 14 for the Tigers.

Ferriday girls 68, Sicily Island 16

Lisa Abron’s squad had no trouble either, using tough defense to hold the Lady Tigers, who were seeking their second win, to a combined seven points in three quarters.

&uot;This time of year we like to stay in shape, and these type of games help us do that,&uot; Abron said. &uot;We just wanted a chance to run the floor and play defense.&uot;

Monique Jones was once again the catalyst for Ferriday (12-3), throwing in 20 points, while teammate Lashonda Pryor scored 13. Latasha Cain came through with eight.

Ferriday hosts Peabody next Friday.

Varsity Girls

Ferriday 68, Sicily Island 16

SI 2 3 9 2 16

FHS 16 20 16 16 68

Ferriday: Monique Jones – 20; Lashonda Pryor – 13; Latasha Cain – 8; Torisheka Taylor – 7; KeAnna Green – 7; Davika Griffin – 4; Rosalind Johnson – 3; Whitney Henderson – 3; Helen Buard – 3

Sicily Island: April Washington – 4; Jessica Tolliver – 3; Leola Webb – 3; Eden Saulsberry – 2; Rutrana Branson – 2; Rachel Giryard – 2

Ferriday – 12-3 overall; next – vs. Peabody, 6 p.m. Friday

Varsity Boys

Ferriday 74, Sicily Island 47

SI 7 15 10 15 47

FHS 27 21 18 8 74

Ferriday: Jackie Thomas – 29; LaKendrick Nix – 19; Calvin Thomas – 9; Ladrian Davis – 8; Chris Watson – 7; Shunzerric Payne – 2

Sicily Island: Gary Washington – 14; Denus Jordan – 14; Lionel Jones – 8; Terry Atkins – 5; Cedric Jackson – 4; Jason Webb – 2

Ferriday – 8-7 overall; next – vs. Peabody, 7:30 p.m. Friday