Sports, like life, sometimes give us free opportunities.

Walking down the street, you may find a $20 bill. Rather than look for a candidate, a company might decide to promote you from within.

In football, a defensive back could fall down, leaving no one within 30 yards of a wide receiver.

Basketball has the free throw.

That seemingly easy, harmless shot has been the Achilles heel of many a team, and it certainly was Friday night for the Vidalia Vikings in their loss to Ville Platte in the LHSAA Quarterfinals.

The Vikings put on one of the most inspired performances the Miss-Lou has seen this season, rallying from an early 15-point deficit to actually take the lead at one point during the fourth quarter against a very strong team.

Unfortunately, the Vikings also went to the free throw line on several occasions during that fourth quarter, and far too many of those freebies were missed.

Vidalia shot 13-for-27 from the line over the course of the game — that’s 48 percent for the non-math majors out there. The Bulldogs, on the other hand, shot 22-for-29.

In a game decided by seven points, if the Vikings had simply hit two-thirds of their free throws — which isn’t too tough to do — they could’ve been within two when they flung up a desperation heave in the game’s final seconds.

This is in no way meant to denigrate Vidalia. They put up a valiant effort in one of the most electric high school basketball games this reporter has ever seen, but their problems at the free throw line seem to be part of a growing trend in basketball as a whole.

Free throws are absolutely the easiest shot a player can have in a basketball game. With the exception of a dunk, nothing is higher percentage. It’s the easiest thing in the world for the average gym rat to work on.

One could make the case that the state of free throw shooting has hurt basketball, overall. Teams have more incentive than ever to foul when they fall behind because there’s always the opportunity the opponent won’t be able to hit the foul shots.

This may be a bit of an overreaction, but it was heartbreaking to watch Vidalia’s players walk out of the locker room with tears streaming down their faces when better free throw shooting likely would have gotten them the win.

Hopefully the Vikings, and other teams in the Miss-Lou, will spend some extra practice time at the charity stripe over the nine months before basketball begins again.

Who knows, a few of them could find themselves with championships with better free throw shooting.

The Vikings, at the very least, would be getting ready to go to Lafayette this weekend.

Tim Cottrell is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached by phone at 601-445-3632 or by e-mail at tim.cottrell@natchezdemocrat.com.