Pine Prairie owns Iota; gets fourth win over Bulldogs

PINE PRAIRIE -- The Pine Prairie Panthers took one giant step toward hosting a playoff game come a week from tomorrow, as they took down the Iota Bulldogs 70-61 Monday night.
This was the fourth time that Pine Prairie has defeated Iota this year; twice in the regular season and two times during district competition.
With the win, the Panthers move to 17-7 on the season and 8-5 in league play. As of Tuesday, the Panthers were No. 11 in the Class 3A power ranking. Pine Prairie must remain in the top 16 in order to host a first round game.
The Panthers were scheduled to conclude the season on the road at Crowley last night. The Gazette will have full coverage of that game in Sunday’s edition.
Monday night’s game had all of the elements you want in a basketball game; pure outside shooting, fast break baskets and tough, hard-nosed defense. Both Pine Prairie and Iota came out on fire offensively in the first quarter of play, as the two teams took turns draining shot after shot.
The Bulldogs opened up with a 4-3 lead in the first 1:12 of the contest. The Panthers answered with a dose of shut down defense, converted turnovers into a 7-1 run over the next 1:36.
Iota settled down enough to disrupt the Pine Prairie scoring attack and found some easy shots off of set offensive pieces. By the 1:37 mark of the period, the Bulldogs had turned a five point deficit into an 18-15 lead.
The Panthers finished the period with two free throws from Isaiah Payne, while Iota hit their last basket of the quarter with 71 seconds left to go, making it a 20-17 game in favor of the Bulldogs.
The deep outside shot became the name of the game in the second quarter, as the two teams combined to hit six shots from beyond the arc. Iota extended their lead to 27-20 with 5:58 to go before half. However, Payne knocked down a trio of three-point baskets over the next 2:57 to cut the Bulldog lead down to three, 32-29.
After a quick 5-2 run from the Bulldogs, Pine Prairie scratched and clawed their way back into the game, scoring the final six points of the half to tie the game up at 37-37 as the teams headed into the locker room.
The teams traded buckets to open the third quarter, with Iota gaining a one point edge, 42-41, because of a made three-point shot. The Panthers regained the momentum they ended the first half with, putting up the next five points in a row, including a three-point basket from Kyler Carson.
After a two point bucket from the Bulldogs cut the Pine Prairie lead down to two, 46-44, with 3:55 to go in the quarter, the Panthers knocked down two unanswered shots, including a three-pointer from Jordan Ardoin, to extend their lead to 51-44 at the 3:22 mark.
Over the remaining minutes of the period, Iota got some of their offensive mojo they had in the first two quarters. The Bulldogs put together a nice 8-3 run to get the score down to 54-52 as time expired in the third quarter.
The fourth period became a game about mental toughness and defensive intensity. Pine Prairie started the quarter on a 6-2 run, getting points from three different players.
The Bulldogs quelled the Panther tide when Colby Wilson hit on two baskets, including a three-pointer, to make it a one point game with 4:22 left to go. Despite the effort from Iota to get back into the game, the Panthers had answers.
Pine Prairie ramped up the defensive pressure and created some fast break opportunities that led to huge late quarter points. Over the next three minutes, the Panthers opened up a 68-59 lead and cruised the rest of the way.
Payne led Pine Prairie with 28 points. Raylin Thomas added 18 points.