Vidalia 43, Beekman 35

Snapping an 18-all halftime tie, Vidalia outscored Beekman 11-3 in the third quarter en route to a 43-35 District 2-2A victory Friday night.

Demikal McCoy scored the first five points of the second half on a bucket from down low and 3-of-4 free throws to put the Vikings ahead for good. Jaquan Wilson's transition layup upped the margin to 25-18.

Greg Tatum's 3-pointer reduced the deficit to 25-21, but it would be the Tigers' only points of the quarter.

Wilson's three-point play and a McCoy free throw enabled the Vikings to carry a 29-21 spread into the final frame.

Keeping the pressure on, Vidalia extended its lead to 35-21 on a couple of Cam'Ron Randall free throws, Wilson's breakaway layup and Randall's putback.

Beekman would continue to compete. Still down 14, the Tigers drew within 41-35 on Tatum's 3-pointer and Daryl Seay's 18-footer, followed by a 3-pointer.

With only 31 seconds remaining, however, Beekman was running out of time.

Free throws by Wilson and Randall wrapped up the scoring.

Vidalia broke out to an early 12-4 lead behind a pair of Wilson treys. Seay scored the final four points of the opening period on a 3-pointer and a free throw to bring the Tigers within 12-8.

Beekman led most of the second quarter before Shane Callihan's 3 squared the score at 18 at the break.

Wilson topped the Vikings' (7-7, 1-1) scoring chart with 14 points, followed by Randall with 11, McCoy with seven — six in the pivotal third quarter — Rod Ransom with six, Callihan with three and Brandon Vantre with two.

Beekman (4-8, 0-2) received 15 points from Daryl Seay, 11 from Tatum, four from Jaquinton Killian, two from Joe Seay and Xavier Hargraves and one from Zak Wade.

NEXT: Beekman has a busy week ahead with stops at Rayville (Tuesday) and Claiborne Christian (Thursday) before returning home against Ferriday on Saturday.