METAIRIE, La. — The young Vidalia High School boys’ basketball team had trouble handling the heavy pressure Ridgewood Prepartory School put on them in the first half of their game Wednesday night.

The Vikings stumbled to a 37-12 halftime-deficit and ended up falling 61-31 in Metairie, La.

“Ridgewood did everything we expected,” Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said. “They pressed up pretty much all of the first half and most of the second. They played 15 players in waves of five and wore us down.”

Sanders said his team really struggled with the press in the first half.

“We kind of panicked when they threw pressure at us,” he said. “The second half got better. It was a learning experience. We are still a young group.”

The Vikings regrouped in the second half, and Ridgewood only outscored Vidalia by five points in the second half.

Sanders said his team faced high-pressure defenses during summer camps, but they did not handle it as well Wednesday night as they did over the summer.

Sanders said he did like the attitude his players showed in the second half.

“They didn’t get down on themselves in the first half and kept playing to the end,” he said.

Michael Whitley led the Vikings with 11 points on the night. Martel Wiley added six points, and Ivan Turner scored four.

Ian Tanksley, Dee Whitley, Isiah Thompson, Trey Virgis and Deion Brown each added two points for the Vikings as well.

The Vikings (1-1) will hit the court again next week.