SICILY ISLAND — In a bizarre finish to a high school basketball game, Roderick “RayJay” Ransom made one of two free throws with 0.9 seconds left after Sicily Island High School was called for a technical foul to give the Vidalia High School Vikings a 45-44 win over the Tigers Thursday afternoon at the 2019 Sicily Island High School Tournament.

The reason for the technical foul? Sicily Island called a timeout that it did not have after Vidalia’s Christian Wright made two free throws following a steal by the Vikings, who were down by two before the unexpected happened.

“A couple of times in the last minute, in the last 30 seconds, we were down by two or three. Christian Wright made the first free throw. He tried to intentionally miss the second one, but it didn’t hit the rim,” Vikings head coach Robert Sanders said.

Vidalia escaped with the victory despite being outscored by Sicily Island 19-14 in the fourth quarter.

Ransom led Vidalia with a game-high 18 points and Wright finished with 15 points. The Vikings (4-4) take on Madison Parish High School today at 4 p.m. as tournament action continues.

Natchez High boys 71,

Jefferson Davis County 54

HATTIESBURG — Travon Jackson scored 18 points and Kedarius Stampley had 15 points to lead four Natchez High School players in double figures as the Bulldogs defeated the Jefferson Davis County High School Jaguars 71-54 Thursday night at the 2019 Hattiesburg Holiday Tournament.

Natchez High trailed Jefferson Davis County 14-10 after one quarter of play and went into halftime tied with the Jaguars at 28-28. Then the Bulldogs pulled away thanks to a 25-11 advantage in the third quarter for a 53-39 lead.

Cameron Davis and James Singleton each scored 12 points for Natchez High. Tynerious Daniels led the Jaguars with 18 points.

The Bulldogs (9-3) will take on the winner of the Hattiesburg/D’Iberville game today at 7:30 p.m. in a winners’ bracket game at the Hattiesburg Holiday Tournament.

Vidalia girls 52, Sicily Island 36

SICILY ISLAND — Jamya Smith led the Vidalia High School Lady Vikings with 19 points and Ke’Niya Lutcher had 15 points as they defeated the Sicily Island High School Lady Tigers 52-36 Thursday afternoon at the 2019 Sicily Island High School Tournament.

The first half was the difference in this game as Vidalia led Sicily Island 14-5 after one quarter of play and 33-15 by halftime. Ricaria Lewis led the Lady Tigers with a game-high 28 points.

The Lady Vikings (5-3) resume play at the Sicily Island Tournament today at 1 p.m. against Block High School.

Ferriday girls 55, Franklin Parish 42

SICILY ISLAND — The Ferriday High School Lady Trojans overcame a slow start to defeat the Franklin Parish High School Lady Patriots 55-42 Thursday afternoon at the 2019 Sicily Island High School Tournament.

The first quarter ended with Franklin Parish holding an 11-10 advantage. That slim one­-point lead would not last long, however, as Ferriday turned to its defense over the next 16 minutes to take control.

The Lady Trojans outscored the Lady Patriots 19-9 in the second quarter for a 29-20 halftime lead and 14-8 in the third quarter for a 43-28 lead. Even though Franklin Parish had a 14-12 edge in the fourth quarter, it was not enough for Ferriday to extend its winning streak to six in a row.

Tierra Spurs led Ferriday with a game-high 22 points and Shekayla Miller added 15 points. The Lady Trojans (7-3) will take on Richwood High School today at 6:40 p.m. at the Sicily Island Tournament.

Holmes County Central girls 35, Natchez High 34

HATTIESBURG — Holmes County Central High School, one of the best teams in all of MHSAA Class 5A, needed a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Natchez High School Lady Bulldogs 35-34 Thursday afternoon at the 2019 Hattiesburg Holiday Tournament.

The Lady Jaguars were down 26-22 at the end of the third quarter, only to outscore the Lady Bulldogs 13-8 in the fourth quarter. Holmes County Central (14-3) won the game despite being held to just two points in the second quarter.

“They’re a really good team. We lost to them by one point at the buzzer,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Alphaka Moore said.

Kelsey McNeal led Natchez High with 15 points and Kelvonda Arbuthnot had eight points. Holmes County Central led the Lady Jaguars with a game-high 16 points.

The Lady Bulldogs (7-5) continues play at the Hattiesburg Holiday Tournament today at 12 p.m. when they take on Yazoo County High School.