FINAL STATS

Here are the final stats for the Vidalia Vikings in the state championship game. Gary Stewart led everyone with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Certainly an MVP performance. Torrey Dixon scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds while Quartrell Thomas scored 18 points. D.J. Polk had nine points for the Vikings and Eric Bell chipped in with six. Well, it’s been fun updating everyone on Vidalia’s state championship game. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the updates as much as I’ve enjoyed posting them. Be sure to read The Natchez Democrat tomorrow to see the entire state championship coverage.

POSTGAME

Vidalia’s Gary Stewart was just named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. The team is posing for photos with the trophy now. We’ll get some of those up on the Web site as soon as we can.

FINAL

Vidalia wins the LHSAA Class 3A state championship by the score of 82-59. Congrats to the Vikings, who finish the season with a 32-4 record. I’ll give you the final stats as soon as I get them.

2 minutes left in the fourth quarter

Vidalia ending the game in style with some more pretty passes leading to layups. Vikings up 82-53 after Polk scores another basket.

4 minutes left in the fourth quarter

Vidalia calls timeout up 73-49. They have slowed the pace of the game down now, just trying to kill some clock and get the game over with.

6 minutes left in fourth quarter

Basket by D.J. Polk gives Vidalia a 69-47 lead. Just counting down the minutes until the celebration can begin for real.

End of third quarter

Vidalia didn’t play too well in the third quarter, but that’s OK when you’re up by 30 points. With eight minutes remaining, the Vikings have a 63-39 lead. The celebration is starting in the Cajundome.

4:00 left in the third quarter

Vidalia getting a little sloppy, which is to be expected when you have a 28-point lead. Coach Sanders calls timeout to try and get the team focused again. Vidalia up 57-28.

5:30 left in the third quarter

Vidalia picking right up where they left off in the first half. The Vikings currently have a 55-27 lead.

Halftime

Some halftime stats. Vidalia is shooting over 65% from the floor and has made 5 of 7 three pointers. Gary Stewart leads the way with 15 points while Torrey Dixon has 14 and Quartrell Thomas has 10.

Good news for Carroll. They hit a spectacular three-quarter court heave at the buzzer. Bad news for Carroll. That only made the score 48-23. Barring a spectacular collapse, Vidalia will win its first state championship in three decades

3 minutes left in second quarter

The blowout continues. Stewart puts in a reverse layup to make the score 38-14. Carroll’s coach call another timeout trying to stop the bleeding.

6 minutes left in second quarter

This is turning into a blowout. Vidalia is up 27-10 after alley oop from Stewart to Torrey Dixon. Stewart just hit another 3-pointer to make it 30-10.

End of first quarter

An almost perfect quarter for Vidalia ended with a flourish, as Gary Stewart nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the Vikings up 19-10. If Vidalia keeps playing like they are now, they’ll be bringing that state championship trophy back home.

2:17 left in first quarter

Vidalia has started like a house on fire. Vikings up 14-4 after a Quartrell Thomas jumper. Carroll coach called timeout to stop the bleeding.

4 minutes left in first quarter

Vidalia up 8-4, playing good defense so far, forced several Carroll turnovers.

2 minutes til tip off

Really cool player intros done by the LHSAA. Highlight package from both teams plays on the video board, then all the lights in the arena go out except for some rotating lights around the ceiling and the 1990s era Chicago Bulls music comes on as the players are introduced. I’m sure it’s a thriil for the high school players.

5 minutes til tip off

It’s about five minutes before tip off here in Lafayette and both teams are warming up. Really good crowd from Vidalia here in the Cajundome. Looks like the Vidalia fans outnumber the fans from Carroll. Also a boisterous student section behind the Vidalia basket as was expected. The cheerleaders are pumping up the crowd as I type this. The one thing Carroll does one-up Vidalia on is the band. Carroll brought a good sized band that is entertaining the crowd with some jams.