Tough sledding

By: RHETT MANUEL Sport Editor MARKSVILLE — Going on the road in any sport is never an easy task. It’s especially difficult in basketball, where the familiarity of your home gym and home crowd can often be a massive advantage. Going on the road changes that. Different shooting environment and heckling can wreak havoc on a team. The friendly confines of home probably would’ve helped the Sacred Heart Trojans last Tuesday night against Marksville. However, Marksville came out red-hot offensively and buried the Trojans, taking advantage of Sacred Heart’s defensive struggles to take a 20-point halftime lead on its way to a 58-42 defeat of Sacred Heart. The Trojans (3-10) took the first quarter to find its bearings against Marksville. As a result, the Tigers raced out to a 16-4 lead in the first quarter. A pair of three-pointers helped spring Marksville’s opening spurt. Sacred Heart found itself on more secure footing in the second period and put up a double-digit frame. Cole Tate, one of two double-digit scorers for the Trojans last Tuesday, powered the Trojans with six of the team’s 11 points in the second quarter. He finished with 10 points. But, the Trojans still managed to slow down Marksville as its 19-points in the second quarter allowed them to stretch the lead to 35-15 by the break. Sacred Heart’s attack was even stronger out of the locker room, as head coach J.P. Boullion’s team put up a 14-point frame. Still, they gave up 20 points and allowed the Tigers to stretch their lead to 26 points heading into the final quarter. Five Trojans found themselves getting into the scorebook in the third period alone, headlined by Vidrine and Colby Cloud each putting up four points to lead a balanced Sacred Heart offense in the frame. When Sacred Heart’s defense caught up in the final period, it was too little too late. Sacred Heart managed to cut into the Marksville lead in the final quarter in out scoring the Tigers by a 13-3 margin. Eight of Karson Vidrine’s team-high 14 points came in the final quarter.