VIDALIA, La. &045; As has been the case so often this season, the Vidalia Vikings were slow getting out of the gates against a tough opponent, only this time they were playing against a team from a higher classification in the LHSAA, the Class 4A Bastrop Rams.

Vidalia managed to score just eight points in the first quarter and had to play catch up the rest of the game, but the Rams were too much as four players scored in double figures in a 77-62 win over the Vikings Tuesday night.

&uot;We started off slow again,&uot; Vikings head coach Robert Sanders said. &uot;They rank right up there with Natchez.&uot;

And this is a much better Bastrop team than the one Vidalia defeated by 20 points last season.

Bastrop (7-2) dominated the first quarter on both ends of the court, not allowing Vidalia (6-5) to take any easy shots and forcing numerous turnovers which led to easy lay-ups on the other end, which helped the Rams take a 25-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Vikings got its offense on track, but they couldn’t stop the Rams, who ever so slightly increased their lead by the end of the third quarter. Courtney Bech led Bastrop with 16 points while Dejamison Norman and Chris Owens had 11 points each.

&uot;We were down by as many as 20, but we got it down to 10 with four minutes left,&uot; Sanders said. &uot;A few turnovers at the end hurt us. But the guys never gave up.&uot;

Ken Johnson led Vidalia with a game-high 23 points and Ramon Harris had 11.

Ferriday 79, Tallulah 62

FERRIDAY, La. &045; There is a nice remedy for sluggish defense.

It’s 10 3-pointers, and that can make even the grumpiest of coaches at least crack a smile.

Ferriday’s Trojans hardly missed from downtown Tuesday night in a win over Tallulah, and they used the triple to pull away at the end after Tallulah’s Trojans threatened to make a game of it.

Yet Ferriday had some lapses in the defense, and head coach James Davis made sure to point it out.

&uot;I thought we got off to a great start, but in the second quarter the defense got kind of lax,&uot; Davis said. &uot;Number 10 (DeAntra Allen) was real, real quick. We really couldn’t contain him much. He still got his points, but we slowed him down. We’ve got to work on our defense. But overall, it’s always good to get a win.&uot;

Tallulah trailed by 15 in the first quarter but used Allen to help chip away at the lead in the second and third quarters. In the third quarter Tallulah got the deficit to five early on when Kevin Campbell put in a basket to put the score at 44-39, but that’s when Juan Smith canned a 3-pointer.

Ferriday (9-1) hit some huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter after holding a 56-47 lead at the end of three. Dominique Myles &045; who hit five for the game to finish with a team-high 22 points &045; hit a triple early in the fourth quarter to put the game all but out of reach for a 61-49 lead.

Myles came back with a layup off a fast break, hit another 3-pointer at the 5:31 mark and followed that with another layup for a 68-49 lead. Charles Jefferson then tossed in a 3-pointer at the 4:17 mark to cap the 15-0 Ferriday run.

&uot;We shot well,&uot; Davis said. &uot;Dominique shot extremely well the first quarter.&uot;

Tallulah got back into the game in the second quarter thanks to Allen, a freshman guard who used his quickness to finish with 23 points. He had 12 in the second quarter, and they were 12 of the team’s first 14 points of the quarter.

Allen converted a layup on a fast break at the 4:03 mark to cut the lead to 32-27. Tallulah got it within four later when Lawarence Smith scored at the 1:15 mark to trim it to 39-35.

But then came that 3-pointer again &045; this time Jefferson nailed it to give Ferriday a 42-35 lead at half.

Sicily Island 45, Block 43

JONESVILLE, La. &045; Block let a seven-point lead at the end of the first quarter slip away in the third quarter as Sicily Island, led by Ceddrick Finister’s 15 points, held off a late rally in the fourth quarter to escape with the two-point win, leaving the Bears still searching for their first win of the season.

Georgetown 59, Monterey 52

MONTEREY, La. &045; Georgetown had five players that scored but it would take a big third quarter for the Bulldogs to put away the Wolves.

Monterey took a 14-10 lead over Georgetown after one quarter of play, but the Bulldogs fought back and cut the lead to one at halftime.

But the third quarter proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs outscored the Wolves 22-13 to take an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Hazlehurst 56, Jefferson 43

HAZLEHURST &045; Jefferson County got off to another slow start and by the time the offense started to click, it would be too late.

Jefferson County (3-13, 1-2) trailed 14-8 at the end of the first quarter and 28-14 at halftime. The 14-point deficit at the half proved to be too big of one for the Tigers to rally back from in the second half.