Both Vidalia squads used superior speed and size to overwhelm their anemic opponents in the semifinal games of the Ronnie Brown Memorial Invitational Tournament Thursday night.

The girls were led by Brendy Ellis 16 points as they coasted to an easy 71-28 win over Sicily Island. In the nightcap, Ronald Ellis poured in 19 first half points as the Vikings ran away from Christ Missionary and Industry School 92-33.

Lady Viking mentor Lilian Johnson came into the tournament admitting her teams liabilities could be used as key assets against a young and hungry Sicily Island squad.

&uot;Were small, which means we have to play defense to create as many fast breaks as possible,&uot; she said. &uot;We need to set the tempo defensively and share the load on offense.&uot;

Johnson’s words proved prophetic as her team jumped out to an early 10-2 lead with 5:19 in the first quarter. The combination of Lady Viking speed and size created a number of Tiger turnovers.

Brendy Ellis would have her way most of the night inside, as second and third shots buried Sicily Island.

Teammates Shemica and Brittany Williams, who scored nine and eight points respectively, would extend the lead to 34-16 going into halftime.

Sharonda Anderson also chipped in 9 points to help the winning cause.

DaShondra Kerry, who played courageously all night, had a team-high 15 points for the Tigers.

The boys contest highlighted two teams that could run all night. However, it was the Viking front line that proved lethal on the boards against the smaller Crusaders from Jackson.

Coach Robert Sanders knew his Vidalia team had to be aggressive and get a good start considering the close contest these two teams had a few weeks back.

&uot;We wanted to play our running style tonight and force them to make the adjustments. We have some of our football players back which will help with our depth.&uot;

That depth would prove useful against an 8-4 CM&I private school team coming into the game looking for respect against a much bigger foe.

From tipoff, the upset-minded Crusaders were saddled with an 14-0 deficit thanks to the hot hand of Jessie Banks who scored eight points in the run.

Ronald Ellis would dominate the boards early and often as the Vikings extended the lead to 18-3 with 3:28 to play in the first and never looked back.

As foul trouble began to mount for the visitors, the crowd was treated to a few second quarter acrobatic slams by Jarvis Vaughn who finished with 18 points.

The second teamers started to pour in as the halftime score stood with the Vidalia lead at 47-20.

The second half continued like much of the first as CM&I could not answer the Viking full court pressure.

Ellis finished with a game-high 22 points and the Crusaders were led by Deontae Brinson’s 10 points.

However, the going will be a lot tougher for Vidalia as both teams will square off for the championship against pesky Davidson beginning at 7 p.m this evening.