VIDALIA, La. &045; He goes by Baby Shaq, in reference to a certain Los Angeles Lakers center, who is arguably the NBA’s most valuable player every night he steps one of those plus-20 feet on the court.

Springhill’s Mike White was certainly dominant like Shaquille O’Neal in the opening round of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s Class 2A playoffs Friday.

The 6-5, 260-pound White imposed his will in the bi-district matchup against Vidalia, scoring 23 points and wreaking havoc for the undersized backup players the Vikings threw at him.

After all they were attempting to bottle him after White had put Louis McNulty, Vidalia’s big cat, on the bench with early foul trouble.

&uot;That’s a typical Mike night,&uot; Lumberjacks head coach Kermit Walker said. &uot;Real quiet, real low key. But the fouls here and there took him out of it.&uot;

And when Springhill needed a Baby Kobe to go along with its Baby Shaq, there was none to be found.

White showed the effects of that, scoring just two of his game-high total in the fourth quarter of a 66-55 loss to Vidalia.

&uot;Mike got frustrated because some of the shots that usually go for him, weren’t going tonight,&uot; Walker added. &uot;Once that happened, he was kind of out of it. &uot;

So were the Jacks, who put up a valiant effort, after watching the Vikings score the game’s first 15 points.

Springhill actually led at the break, thanks mainly to White, who abused McNulty et al who tried to get in his way around the basket.

A great finisher from five feet in, White had 13 at halftime, and scored 10 of his team’s first 12 points.

&uot;He’s a strong player. We saw that Tuesday&uot; Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said, referencing a Springhill game against Grambling Viking coaches scouted last week. &uot;We knew we were going to have to double-team him down low and keep him off of the low block.&uot;

Vidalia’s interior concoction of McNulty, Chris Smith and Rodney Washington rattled the big man by challenging White around the hoop with strong moves toward the glass.

The maneuver paid off for Sanders and the Vikings, which quickly turned the tables on White, putting him on the bench with three, and then four fouls.

&uot;That was a big thing in the second half,&uot; Sanders said. &uot;We knew that if we went to the low post he’d either have to foul us or give up an uncontested shot.&uot;

When White was forced to play more cautious it opened up the entire Vidalia offense, opportunities Smith was happy to take advantage of.

Seldom a scoring threat this season, the senior was one of four Viking players to reach double digits, pouring in 11 points along with Washington and C.J. Williams.

Tony Hawkins led Vidalia with 20.

&uot;I knew I had to step it up because coach had said the starters had done all season,&uot; Smith said. &uot;It was time for some other people to come forward.

&uot;We just want to keep win, so we can go back to Lafayette&uot; and the Top 28, he added.

Saturday’s performance took one stride in accomplishing that. Another will come if Vidalia can pull off a victory over Episcopal in Baton Rouge on Tuesday.

The Knights finished fourth during the regular season in 2A’s toughest district.

Eight-2A includes top-ranked University High and LSU signee Glenn &uot;Big Baby&uot; Davis, and Christian Life Academy, a top 10 team who was set to face Ferriday before the LHSAA rule Thursday the Crusaders had three ineligible foreign exchange students on their roster.

The Trojans got a bye due to the ruling and will host Rayville, an 87-80 winner over Jonesboro-Hodge on Friday.