MARSKVILLE, La. — After allowing 45 first-half points and down double digits at halftime, the Vidalia Vikings knew they had to play better defense in the second half if they were going to defeat the Marksville Tigers Friday night.

And not only did the defensive intensity pick up for Vidalia in the final 16 minutes of regulation, but so did its offense as the Vikings rallied for a 90-86 overtime win over Marksville to take sole possession of first place in District 3-3A.

A back-and-forth first quarter ended with Marksville taking an 18-16 lead. But the Tigers surprised Vidalia with its superior play on both ends of the court in the second quarter as they outscored the Vikings 27-13 for a 45-29 lead at halftime.

“We were down by 16 at the half. But in the second half, we just turned it up,” Vidalia head coach Robert Sanders said. “The guys did a heck of a job on defense and on offense in the second half.”

Led by Quartrell Thomas, Gary Stewart and Torrey Dixon, Vidalia stormed back in the third quarter and outscored a stunned Marksville team 25-8 to take a 54-53 lead into the fourth quarter.

“They did a much better job of crashing the boards in the second half. That’s where all those points came from in the third quarter,” Sanders said.

Marksville, however, regained its composure enough to outscore Vidalia 22-21 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. But the Vikings were too much in the extra period as they outscored the Tigers 15-11.

“Man, our guys just did a great job. It will be great to get back home Tuesday,” Sanders said. “We had another overtime game with Sicily Island in a tournament, but it didn’t have this kind of intensity. We had a lot to battle against.”

Vidalia (22-1, 4-0) won the game despite having some of its players get into early foul trouble and Stewart, who finished with 18 points, fouling out in the fourth quarter.

“We were in deep foul trouble. They were shooting in the double-bonus from the third quarter on,” Sanders said. “Quartrell had 20 points. That kid did a great job tonight.”

Dixon also scored 18 points while Rolandin Webster and Jacob McGraw each scored 10 points for Vidalia. Kyren Ford had 19 points while DQ Barbin and Marcus Johnson finished with 17 points each for Marksville.

Trinity Episcopal 71, River Oaks 67 (OT)

MONROE, La. — River Oaks’s Vincent Moore scored nine of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, but the Saints prevailed by outscoring the Mustangs 13-9 in overtime to remain undefeated in District 3-AA.

Moore’s 30 points led River Oaks in scoring, but he was not the game’s leading scorer. That distinction belonged to Trinity Episcopal’s Brandon Daggs, who finished with 34 points.

But the way the first quarter went, it looked like neither player would come close to having that kind of performance. Both teams struggled to get out of the gate and by the time the opening quarter was over, River Oaks led 9-7.

The second quarter, however, was much different as Trinity Episcopal, the No. 2 team in Class AA, outscored River Oaks 24-21 to take a one-point halftime lead. The Saints maintained that lead at the end of the third quarter, but the Mustangs forced overtime by outscoring them 14-13 in the fourth quarter.

Giovonni Dent finished with 14 points and Andrew Johnson added nine points for Trinity Episcopal (24-6, 8-0). Will White had 14 points and Cody Trichell chipped in with 12 points for River Oaks.

Jefferson County 83, North Pike 70

FAYETTE — Terry Tenner scored a game-high 30 points and Davion Noble had 20 points to lead four Jefferson County players in double figures as the Tigers defeated the Jaguars Friday night to stay near the top of the Region 7-3A standings.

Jefferson County (9-10, 7-2) jumped out to a 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter, but saw its lead cut to seven by halftime. But the Tigers made sure North Pike’s comeback attempt would be short-lived as they 27 points in the third quarter and 20 in the fourth quarter to keep the Jaguars at bay.

Trellvion Gaines scored 16 points and Chemenski Tenner had 13 points for the Tigers. Jeremick Jordan finished with 22 points and Jacob Morgan added 16 points for North Pike, which also had four players score in double figures.

Huntington 63, Amite School Center 30

LIBERTY — While Huntington scored at will in the first half, Amite School Center had a tough time just trying to make a basket as the Hounds steamrolled past the Rebels Friday night.

Huntington (14-9) dominated the first half from the opening tip to the halftime buzzer. The Hounds scored 18 points in the first quarter to just four for the Rebels. The second quarter was more of the same as the Hounds outscored the Rebels 20-5 for a commanding 38-9 lead at the break.

Tyler Pere’ led Huntington with 20 points and Kevin Brown scored 16 points. Lucas Felder led Amite School Center with nine points.

Wilkinson County 67, Tylertown 57

WOODVILLE — Kenny Harden scored a game-high 20 points and Justin Jarvis finished with 15 points as the Wildcats pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 10-point win over the Chiefs in Region 7-3A action Friday night.

Wilkinson County led by just four points at the end of the third quarter, but it outscored Tylertown 17-11 in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats led 20-14 after one quarter of play, but the Chiefs would not go away easily.

Clayton Conerly led Tylertown with 15 points and J. Jackson chipped in with 14 points.

Brookhaven Academy 78, Centreville 43

BROOKHAVEN — At times during the first three quarters, Brookhaven Academy played like the No. 1 in Class AA and at times it didn’t. But the Cougars more than made up for that with a dominating performance in the fourth quarter of a 35-point win over the Tigers Friday night.

Brookhaven Academy (21-5) led 21-11 at the end of the first quarter, but Centreville hung around through the next two quarters, even cutting the lead to eight points at halftime. But the Cougars took control in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Tigers 25-4.

Blaine Roberts led Brookhaven Academy with 21 points. Kyle Brown led Centreville (9-13) with 15 points.