LAFAYETTE, La. — There were high-flying dunks and turnovers galore in Saturday’s LHSAA Class 3A Top 28 State Championship game at the Cajundome.

Unfortunately, few of them were by Vidalia basketball players.

The No. 2 seeded Vikings fell to No. 4 Richwood 75-61 in the state title game, playing an uncharacteristically slow offensive game and getting overpowered under the basket by the Rams.

The Vikings have typically scored many points off turnovers this season, but they could only get 9 points off the turnovers Saturday night. The Rams, meanwhile, scored 16 points of Viking turnovers.

“Their offense was a little more patient than our defense was,” Vidalia coach Robert Sanders said. “I thought we caused a few travels that they didn’t call, but that’s the way it goes.”

Vidalia was behind by 2 points after the first quarter, but the second quarter was the real problem. Richwood scored 26 points for a 39-25 lead at the half, thanks in part to five dunks.

The Rams (24-11) went on a 16-2 run to open the second quarter, and LaDon Carter scored 10 points in eight minutes. He finished with 19 for the night.

Sanders said he couldn’t blame the struggles on the team’s nerves.

“They were still as relaxed as they have been all playoffs,” Sanders said.

And after showing some frustration at the end of the first half, the players regrouped in the locker room to put up a fight in the third and fourth quarters.

A dunk by Torrey Dixon reignited the Vikings, who outscored the Rams 17-10 in the third quarter, and they were able to better contain Richwood’s big guys.

“Once we realized we could fix (those guys), we got back into the game,” Sanders said. “Our taller guys got inside a little more. We told them we needed to stay in there and jump more. We are basically a short team, so our taller guys have to get in there and do the work.”

The Vikings made a run for it in the fourth quarter, whittling the lead to just 4 points, thanks in part to two consecutive 3-pointers by Quartrell Thomas, who finished the game with 16 points in the game.

“In the fourth quarter, we fought back, led by Quartrell hitting his shots,” Sanders said. “We were able to go inside more, and we were passing better. They would double Gary on the wing, as we were expecting, so that allowed us to go inside more.”

But Richwood soon put a stop to their charge, scoring the last 7 points of the game to seal the win.

“I’m proud of the way that, when we got down by 14 in the first, our guys fought back and cut it to 7 points in the third and 4 in the fourth,” Sanders said. “I’m proud of them for not giving up. I told them if they fought hard, they had nothing to keep their heads down about.

“Richwood was more experienced being here. They were here last year, and they won it in 2005. They seem to be a frequent visitor to this tournament.”

Torrey Dixon scored 16 points in the game, and Gary Stewart scored 15 — 13 in the second half.

Marceis Davis put up 17 points for the Rams, and LaDarrin Williams added 15.

The Vikings’ 32-2 run this season is still an impressive feat for a team with four seniors and four starting juniors.

Sanders said there’s a lot of hope the team will be back in the same position next year.

“We do have another chance,” he said. “We’d like to send our seniors off on a better note, but this was a great season for them.”