In a game that had eight players score in double figures, Block High School’s second-half comeback attempt came up just short as the Bears lost to the Madison Parish High School Jaguars 67-64 Wednesday night at the 2014 Sicily Island High Tournament.

Block could not make enough stops on defense in the first half and that was the a pivotal factor in the outcome of this game. Madison Parish scored 19 points in the first quarter and 20 points in the second quarter on its way to taking a 39-33 lead into halftime.

The Bears were only able to cut one point off the Jaguars’ lead at the end of the third quarter. Even though Block put up 17 points in the fourth quarter, Madison Parish held its own with 15 points.

“The kids are a scrappy bunch and they give me everything they’ve got every night,” Block coach Anthony Barber said. “We are an undersized team, but we play with heart.”

Anthony Barber Jr. and Raymond Plummer led Block with 14 points each while Kendarius Jones added 13 points and Dorian Bowman poured in 11 points.

Coach Barber said that playing in this tournament will help the Bears get prepared for LHSAA District 3-1A play.

“Yes, this tournament, we were getting ourselves sharp and ready for district. We are going to be all right if we keep playing like we did these past three days,” coach Barber said.

Block (9-6) next plays on Friday, Jan. 9 in its district opener at St. Mary’s.

Vidalia 56, Ferriday 53

SICILY ISLAND — The final game of the 2014 Sicily Island High Tournament featured the Concordia Parish rivalry between Vidalia High School and Ferriday High School. And the two teams did not disappoint any of their fans.

Ferriday jumped out to an early lead on Vidalia, but the Vikings rallied behind the efforts of Julius Wilson and Malik Jefferson in the fourth quarter to defeat the Trojans 56-53 Thursday night.

The Trojans led the Vikings 17-12 at the end of the first quarter, but Vidalia responded with a 14-11 advantage in the second quarter to trail at halftime 28-26. Both teams scored 12 points in the third quarter and then the Vikings capped off their comeback by outscoring the Trojans 18-13 in the fourth quarter.

Wilson led the Vikings with 19 points and Jefferson finished with 17 points. Dantress Scott led the Trojans with a game-high 22 points.

Vidalia doesn’t play again until Friday, Jan. 9 when it plays host to Neville High School. Ferriday, on the other hand, returns to action this Friday when its hosts New Living Word.

Ferriday (girls) 68, Block 34

SICILY ISLAND— The Ferriday Lady Trojans rolled against the Block Lady Bears, 68-34, to wrap up their play in the Sicily Island tournament Wednesday afternoon.

Jada Griggs led the way for Ferriday with 35 points.

“She was feeling it today,” said Ferriday head coach Lisa Abron of Griggs. “The first two games in the tournament she was still nervous about the ankle, but (Wednesday), she played with a lot of confidence and relaxation.”

The game was relatively tight most of the way, but Ferriday was able to pull away in the fourth, outscoring Block 22-2 in the quarter.

“We took the air out of whatever they were trying to do then,” Abron said. “We are trying to get ready for district so we never let up. We were getting easy buckets.”

Ferriday improved to 12-3 with the win and will host New Living Word in their next game at 5 p.m. Friday.