VIDALIA &045; Walter Hankston’s 25-foot three pointer with 6.3 seconds remaining in the first half could have given Block some momentum going into the locker room.

That is, it could have if it hadn’t been the Bears’ only score in the game.

Vidalia ran Block right out of the gym, beating the Bears 48-20 Friday night and nearly shutting them out in the first half.

&uot;It gives us a lot of confidence going into tomorrow,&uot; Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said. &uot;We’re playing Ferriday for the championship, and we really want to win.&uot;

The Vikings used their defense to create constant fast break opportunities and easy baskets. Even on the layups they missed, multiple players crashed the boards, getting rebounds and putting them back for Vidalia scores.

At the end of the first quarter, Vidalia led 17-0 and Block hadn’t had a good look at the basket yet.

The domination continued in the second period, with Vidalia’s second team continuing to hold the Bears without a point. Vidalia scored only four points.

With the clock winding down on the half, Hankston heaved a shot from the right side that swished in, giving the Bears three points and some shred of dignity after a first half in which they were hapless.

&uot;I just told them not to let up,&uot; Sherman said. &uot;We were up by 20 earlier this season and the team took us to overtime. It’s not over until you win.&uot;

That having been said, the game was in little doubt in the second half. Vidalia came out playing tough defense again and continued to stretch its lead, though the Bears had more success scoring than they had in their dreadful first half.

Eight Vikings scored in the game and most of the players saw some action. Block never established a half-court offense and got most of its points on breakaways or one-on-one plays.

Vidalia’s usually strong guard play was in evidence once again, with Jarvis Whitley, Ramon Harris and point guard Marvin Warner running early and often on the breaks. The surprise of the game for the Vikings was the inside play of Jeremy Riggs and Josh Upchurch.

Riggs led the Vikings with 11 points in one of his best games of the year.

&uot;I just thought we outhustled them,&uot; Riggs said. &uot;There isn’t much to say about a game like that, but there’s still room for improvement.&uot;

Block girls 64, Vidalia 49

VIDALIA &045; The Block girls had more success, getting a 64-49 win in a game that took the better part of two hours to play.

Block’s youth and inexperience showed through in the high number of fouls the Lady Bears committed, slowing the game down.

&uot;We’re just young and trying to learn the game,&uot; Block head coach Veronica Savage said. &uot;Once they understand how to play, we’ll do better.&uot;

That might be a scary thought for Block’s opponents over the next few years because the Bears are already pretty good.

Block jumped out early with an aggressive full-court defense that drove the Vikings crazy. The Bears got some easy buckets off of turnovers and led by as many as 13 points in the first half before taking a 32-22 lead into halftime.

The only serious mistakes Block made was the high volume of fouls, which sent Vidalia to the line repeatedly in the second quarter. The Lady Vikings didn’t take much advantage because of poor free-throw shooting.

&uot;We didn’t shoot free-throws well,&uot; Smith said. &uot;That’s usually one of our strong points.&uot;