JONESVILLE, La. &045; Through the first seven minutes of the boys matchup with Sicily Island, things were rather mundane in the Block High School gymnasium Tuesday.

In fact, the Tigers had the homestanding Bears on their heels.

Sicily Island took an early six-point lead, thanks primarily to the dominance of post Derius Jordan, who accounted for all nine of the Tiger points with 3:27 left in the first.

Enter 6-5 Block post Jeremy Washington. When the senior tight end is not skying above defenders for receptions during football season, Washington takes a similar path on his way up for dunks and rebounds on the hardcourt.

His two-handed monster flush with 40.8 seconds to go in the first period capped a 14-1 Bear run in which Block (4-1) took a lead it never relinquished in a 70-49 thumping of the Tigers.

&uot;He’s got a great presence about him on the court,&uot; Block head coach Whitney McCarthy said of Washington. &uot;He’s one of those that doesn’t have his basketball legs quite yet. He’s still in football shape.&uot;

On Tuesday, that was not such an hindrance; moreover, the spring in his step possibly benefited Washington, who outplayed Jordan collectively, while being outscored 27-13 for the game.

Washington’s first breakaway dunk just spoiled the fans. As any entertainer will admit, you always want to leave them hungry for more &045; e.g. Joe &uot;Can you hear me now?&uot; Horn.

With the Bears comfortable in front late in the second period, Air Jeremy reappeared on an alley oop from E.J. Wilkerson.

Off a Sicily Island turnover, Washington and Wilkerson were the only two players in the frontcourt. Wilkerson retrieved an outlet pass underneath the hoop, bounced the ball straight up and Washington picked it out of the air as he went vertical for the thunderous finish.

&uot;I think we’re just now starting to get into shape offensively,&uot; McCarthy said. &uot;We still have a little football in us. We’re starting to play at our pace. We want to get out and run against teams.&uot;

Washington and Wilkerson were two of three Block players to reach double figures scoring. Wilkerson contributed 11 to go along with Jamarcus Crumpton’s 12.

On the strength of some stingy defense in the second period, the Bears blew the doors off their lead, stretching what was once a close affair into a laugher.

Tiger turnovers resulted into easy Block buckets in transition and the Bears strutted into the locker room with a 45-19 advantage.

&uot;The first thing I did with them was gather them and say we needed to play hard-nosed defense,&uot; said McCarthy, who is in his first year. &uot;None of our opponents to this point have score 50 points on us. That’s been one of our goals is to hold them to 40 or fewer.&uot;

While the performance was impressive, McCarthy had to burn a timeout early on after the Bears fell behind 9-3, as Jordan was having his way in the paint.

The sluggish beginning is plenty of fodder for McCarthy to emphasize at Block’s next practice.

&uot;The little things need some fixing. Blocking out, taking charges, having our intensity up higher than other teams &045; we can work on all of that. It’s all stuff we can get better with.

Block girls 61, S.I. 37

Lady Bear head coach Veronica Savage is looking for chemistry. If she though it might work Savage might be willing to take out an ad in the Democrat.

But the connection is not for her, but rather her 2003-04 team that, after the losses of Dani McMillin and Catessa Branch, boasts a plethora of new faces.

Queenie Kimbrough, a familiar one, scored a game-high 20 points in Tuesday’s win over the Lady Tigers.

&uot;My kids know you don’t replace a Dani or a T (Branch),&uot; Savage said. &uot;You pick up and go with what you’ve got. We’re going to give 110 percent with or without Dani and T. My philosophy is work the defense and the offense will come.&uot;

A Tiffany Wilkerson 3-pointer with 4:53 remaining in the first period gave the Lady Bears their initial lead, 6-4, and they quickly turned into an eight-point advantage, 12-4, when Kimbrough dropped in two off a fast break.

An eight-point outburst by freshman Ashley Green in the second period helped Block build a 17-point lead, 33-16, at halftime.

&uot;Queenie is very willing to take the reigns and run with it when she’s out there,&uot; Savage said. &uot;But I feel like when I put Ashley Green on the court, she does a great job for us. I’m proud of all of them.

&uot;My seniors know they have to step up and put forth a strong effort. As you saw tonight, all of my girls scored. We’re not going to put a certain amount of pressure on anybody.&uot;