MAMOU – After three days of play in the 2019 Evangeline Parish Basketball Tournament, four teams emerged with a chance to claim the title as best hard court squad in the parish and take home the hardware that comes with that championship.
The tournament finals, which were scheduled to take place on Saturday came down to two girls’ teams and two boys’ teams. In the girls’ bracket, the defending parish champions, the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers, were to take on the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans.
In the boys’ bracket, the Ville Platte Bulldogs, winners of last year’s tournament, were set to face off against the Sacred Heart Trojans. The Gazette will have full coverage of the finals in Thursday’s edition.
Here is a rundown of the first three days of the tournament.
Wednesday’s Action
Sacred Heart
vs. Basile (G)
Sacred Heart took an early 8-7 lead after one quarter of play and extended that lead to 15-7 as the two teams headed into the locker room.
The Lady Trojans outscored Basile 13-10 in the third quarter and finished strong in the final quarter as they walked away with a 45-26 win.
Sacred Heart
vs. Basile (B)
Sacred Heart picked up its second win of the season, as they rolled to a 62-37 win over Basile.
The Trojans took control early in the game, outpacing the Bearcats 17-6 in the opening period. Sacred Heart opened the lead up to 18 points, 39-21, by the end of the half and then proceeded to take a 14-8 advantage in the third quarter on their way to the win.
Pine Prairie
vs. Mamou (G)
This game was close from the start, as both teams were able to pick up 10 points in the first quarter of play. Pine Prairie created enough turnovers in the second quarter to open up a 26-19 lead by the end of the second period.
The Lady Panthers held pat for the most part in the third quarter, outscoring the Lady Demons 7-6. Pine Prairie finished the game with a 6-4 advantage in the fourth quarter to pick up the victory and advance on.
Pine Prairie
vs. Mamou (B)
It was all Mamou from the start as the Demons busted open an 18-3 lead after one quarter of play and extended that to 36-8 by half time.
From that point on, the Demons cruised their way through the third and fourth quarters for a 48-27 win over the Panthers.
Thursday’s Action
Basile vs. Mamou (G)
In the first loser’s bracket game of the tournament, Basile powered its way to a 20-5 lead in the first period. That 15 point lead remained pretty much the same as the Lady Bearcats took a 28-14 lead into the locker room.
However, Mamou came out in the second half with added passion and defense, cutting the Basile advantage down to three, 34-31, as the third quarter came to a close. The Lady Demons continued to create turnovers in the fourth quarter, and not only found some offense but also a 47-41 win to move on to the semi-finals.
Basile (B) vs.
Pine Prairie.
In a boys’ elimination game, the Pine Prairie Panthers came back from a three point deficit after one quarter of play to take down the Basile Bearcats 50-44 to advance forward to the semi-finals.
Basile, playing in only its second game this season, jumped out to a 13-10 lead after one quarter of play. Undaunted, Pine Prairie picked up the pace on both sides of the floor to tie the game at 22 apiece before the halftime buzzer sounded.
The Panthers opened the third quarter on a 4-0 run and ended the period on a 5-0 run to lead 41-31 heading into the final period.
The Panthers then held off a late Basile charge to take the win and head into the semi-finals.
Sacred Heart vs.
Ville Platte (G)
In their first appearance in the tournament, the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs spotted the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans a two point lead after the first period, but settled down long enough to take a 45-33 win.
In the game, Sacred Heart went back and forth with Ville Platte in the first quarter but got enough baskets in the paint to take a 12-10 lead as the buzzer to end the period sounded.
Midway through the second quarter, the Ville Platte defense picked up the intensity long enough to give the Lady Bulldogs a 21-15 lead before the end of the half.
Ville Platte extended that lead to 11, 32-21, by the time the third quarter came to a close. Despite a hard fought fourth quarter by the Lady Trojans, Ville Platte was able to stay pat and pick up the win, sending the Lady Bulldogs into the semi-finals.
Sacred Heart vs.
Ville Platte (B)
Ville Platte jumped out to a 16-7 lead in the first quarter of play and cruised its way to a 62-28 win over the Sacred Heart Trojans in the nightcap game on Thursday.
The Bulldogs completed the first half on a 17-9 run and then moved out to a 53-21 lead after three quarters of play. Ville Platte closed out the game with a two point advantage in the fourth quarter to get their first win of the tournament and move on to the semi-finals were they were set to face the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers
Friday’s Action
Sacred Heart
vs. Mamou (G)
Sacred Heart slipped out to an 11-8 lead in the first quarter and then proceeded to tack on the points, as they rolled to a 54-37 win over the Mamou Lady Demons Friday’s first semi-final game.
The Lady Trojans doubled Mamou’s production in the second quarter, 20-10, to own a 30-18 advantage heading into the locker room.
The third quarter definitely belonged to Sacred Heart as the Lady Trojans outmatched the Lady Demons 18-9. Sacred Heart finished the game strong, earning a win and a berth in the finals.
Sacred Heart vs.
Pine Prairie (B)
The first boys’ semi-final on Friday saw the Pine Prairie Panthers jump out to a 16-13 lead, only to succumb to the Sacred Heart defensive pressure as the Trojans ran past Pine Prairie 60-41.
Trailing by three, Sacred Heart ramped things up on the defensive side of the floor and outpaced the Panthers 11-4 in the second quarter. The Trojans continued their defensive prowess in the third quarter and created enough turnovers to own a 40-27 lead after three quarters of play.
Sacred Heart finished on a 20-14 run in the final quarter to seal the victory and earn a spot in the finals for the first time in several years.
Pine Prairie vs.
Ville Platte (G)
In one of the best games of the tournament, the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers earned their way to the finals with a slim but decisive 40-34 win over Ville Platte.
The first quarter was a low scoring affair, as Pine Prairie only led 6-3 by the time the buzzer sounded to end the period. The offenses got on track in the second quarter, with the Lady Panthers outscoring the Lady Bulldogs 13-9 to take a seven point lead into the locker room.
That seven point lead was cut down to five, 27-22, after three quarters of play. However, Pine Prairie was able to stay strong in the fourth quarter and earn a second trip to the finals in consecutive seasons.
Mamou (B)
vs. Ville Platte
Despite being down two starters, the Ville Platte Bulldogs came out and dominated Mamou from the tip-off to the final buzzer in a 70-36 win.
Ville Platte busted out to a 17-6 lead in the first quarter and extended that lead to 33-18 by the time the first half buzzer sounded.
The defensive pressure offered by Ville Platte continued to lead to easy buckets on the other end of the floor and allowed the Bulldogs to hold a 48-25 lead after three quarters of play.
Ville Platte finished out the game on a high note outscoring Mamou 22-9 in the final period of play to get to the finals.