FERRIDAY — Brandon Scott’s breakaway jam with less than five seconds to go was the exclamation point on an up-and-down, fast-paced game between Concordia Parish rivals Friday night.

Scott’s dunk gave him 17 points on the night, and Ferriday High School’s ability to score in transition led it to a 64-56 victory over Vidalia High School.

“Our conditioning is good enough that we know we can run all night,” Ferriday coach K.G. Watkins said. “Everybody is going to make a run, but we believe we can maintain it if we keep our composure, and that’s what happened tonight. They made a good run, but we were able to fight them off.”

Ferriday jumped out to a double-digit lead a couple of times in the second half, but Vidalia managed to fight its way back in the game and had its chances to win in the fourth quarter.

“We missed at least eight free throws, and that’s the difference right there,” Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said. “And in the first half we were missing our layups.”

Vidalia did show some resiliency in coming from behind without a couple of regular starters, who were out with injury.

“I was proud of the way they didn’t give up,” Sanders said. “They showed that they will fight until the final bell.”

Ferriday’s Shannon Morales scored 12 points in the contest, and Quavion Ellis and Marlon Jackson each scored 10 points. All of Jackson’s 10 came in the second half.

Watkins said he was proud to see his team close out a game and show that it has the ability to win tight matchups.

“We just have to learn to keep our composure,” he said. “I think these kids know how to play the game, but now they have to learn how to win.”

Vidalia’s multiple comeback bids came from the Vikings’ ability to force Ferriday turnovers and convert them into points, and Watkins said the Trojans made too many mistakes at times.

“We knew that’s how they were going to play, and we worked on it, our kids just have to execute and make better decisions,” Watkins said.

Watkins was also complimentary of the Vikings’ ability to fight back from big deficits on a couple of occasions.

Julius Wilson led Vidalia with 15 points, and Deion Brown added 14.

Vidalia (0-7) will travel to face Sterlington High School Tuesday. Ferriday (3-3) will host Franklin Parish Tuesday.

Vidalia girls 53, Ferriday 50

Ferriday and Vidalia both came into Friday night girls’ basketball game winless on the season.

And both teams did all they could to capture their first win against their closest rival, but in the end it was the Lady Vikings that managed to squeak out a 53-50 win.

“It was good for the kids,” head coach Fred Marsalis said. “We needed a win real bad. We could feel it coming, and we just needed to get the win.”

Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron said she knew before the game started that it would be a battle, and her prediction was right on, she said.

“I predicted it would be very close,” Abron said. “We were both 0-5 and needed a win. We are just young and inexperience, but we will keep trying.”

Fran Duson led Vidalia with 14 points, and Taylor Tennessee scored 13 for the Lady Vikings.

Ferriday’s Jada Griggs led all scorers with 17 points.

Vidalia (1-5) will travel to Sterlington Tuesday. Ferriday (0-6) will host Franklin Parish.