Hold that Panther

VILLE PLATTE -- The Sacred Heart Trojans completely dominated the Bunkie Panthers in the first two quarters and then had to stave off a furious Panther charge in the third quarter to pick up a 53-27 non-district win Tuesday night.
With the win over Bunkie, Sacred Heart improved to 7-8 on the season. The Trojans are scheduled to play St. Edmund at home Friday night.
Sacred Heart got off to a great start against the Panthers, opening up with the first two points of the game on a pair of free throws from Chase Tate. Over the next 2:40 neither team could shake the other as the scoreboard showed a 6-6 deadlock with 4:34 to go in the initial quarter.
From there the Trojans began to assert their dominance both offensively and defensively. By the time the first period had come to a close, Sacred Heart owned a 15-6 lead.
That dominance continued forward into the second quarter. In fact, the Trojan defense was so relentless, the Panthers were only able to collect three total points in the period.
Behind Keegan McIntosh, Austin Darbonne and Tate, Sacred Heart motored their way to a 30-9 lead as the teams headed into the locker room.
The Trojans came out in the third quarter looking to steadily apply the pressure on the Panthers and put the game away early in the period. Sacred Heart knocked down the first six points of the period to extend their advantage to 27.
Bunkie hit a basket and sank the and-one free throw to quell the Trojan tide. Sacred Heart seemed to get back to business just 15 seconds later when McIntosh sank a three-point basket.
However, the Panthers somehow found an extra gear on both sides of the floor. Beginning at the 5:56 mark of the quarter, Bunkie went on a 13-0 run that put them within 14 points of the Trojans. Sacred Heart finished the period on a Bryce Deville lay-up, putting the score at 41-25 in favor of the Trojans.
The final quarter did not see much in the way for scoring for either side. Sacred Heart’s Spencer Darbonne collected the first two points of the quarter with a pair of free throws.
Bunkie answered back with a basket of their own at the 6:01 mark. But, it was too little, too late for the Panthers, as the Trojan bench did a great job of not allowing the Panthers any more runs down the stretch.
McIntosh finished the game with 16 points to lead all Sacred Heart scorers. Tate added 13 points in the win.