VILLE PLATTE – The quest for the 2018 Evangeline Parish hardcourt title began with a slate of four games here
Wednesday afternoon. The annual tourney scheduled to be played in Mamou was moved to Sacred Heart due to unresolved renovations to the Green Demon gymnasium.
The tournament resumed on Thursday with the semi-finals scheduled for Friday and the finals set for yesterday. Here are the results from the first two days of play. The Gazette will have coverage of the final two days in this Thursday’s edition.
Wednesday’s Games
Basile (G) vs. Mamou
The opening game of the tournament began with a bang as the Mamou Lady Demons took down the Basile Lady Bearcats 39-38.
Basile controlled the early part of the game, jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first 3:30. Mamou scored their first bucket at the 4:30 mark and continued to crawl back into the contest, cutting the Lady Bearcat lead down to two, 9-,7 as the first quarter came to a close.
The game remained tight throughout the entire second quarter, with no team owning more than a four point lead. Trailing 17-15 with 1:09 left before half, Mamou’s Markaysha Johnson hit a long range three-point shot that gave the Lady Demons a one point advantage. That one point lead remained as the teams headed into the locker room with Mamou on top of Basile 20-19.
A ton of missed opportunities dominated the story of the third quarter. For the first three minutes of the period, neither team could put points on the board until Basile’s Ryan Ashford hit a free throw to tie the game up at 20-20. Over the next five minutes the Lady Bearcats began to slowly pull away and owned a 30-23 lead at the end of the third quarter.
A wild fourth quarter turned into a last minute win for the Lady Demons. Mamou cut into the Basile lead and trailed by two 30-28 with 5:56 remaining. The Lady Bearcats were able to bring their advantage back up to six just two minutes later.
However, the Lady Demons crawled their way back into the game and finally took the lead and the win on a three- point basket by Ungel Lazard with only 17 seconds left on the clock. Lazard led the way for Mamou with 10 points, while Lainey Soileau had 18 to lead Basile.
Basile (B) vs. Mamou
Game two of the tournament turned out to be a tight knit contest for the first three quarters. But, in the end it was the solid defensive play that gave the Mamou Demons a 47-37 win over the Basile Bearcats.
As the game opened, Mamou took advantage of some early offensive opportunities, building an 8-2 lead halfway through the first quarter. Basile settled down the remainder of the period and even took over possession of the lead by two points,10-8, as the quarter came to a close.
The Bearcats found themselves on top up until the 4:03 mark when Mamou’s Trevon Gallow sank a two-point basket to put the Demons back in the lead 18-17. From that point until the end of the half, Mamou stayed on top albeit by a slim margin and took a 24-22 advantage into the locker room.
The third quarter saw a Basile resurgence in energy and defensive effort. The combination of some timely shots and costly turnovers by Mamou allowed the Bearcats to own a 35-29 lead as the third quarter ended.
That six point edge would not last in the final period. Holding Basile to only two points the entire fourth quarter, the Demons out scored the Bearcats 18-2 to close out the win.
Kyrin Green led all Demon scorers with 13 points while Andre Reed finished with 11 points for the Bearcats.
Sacred Heart (G)
vs. Ville Platte
Another barn-burner found its way into the third game of the day, as the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs had to use a fourth quarter surge to defeat the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans 39-32.
The game began with both teams taking turns with holding the momentum. Sacred Heart moved out to a 6-2 lead with 4:05 left in the first quarter, but Ville Platte’s late run tied the contest at 8-8 when the horn sounded to end the period.
The Lady Bulldogs used their new found drive to propel themselves to a 14-8 lead at the 5:24 mark of the second quarter. However, the Lady Trojans were able to right the ship and tied the game at 14-14 with back-to-back baskets by Blair Lafleur. With one minute to go Ville Platte’s Alyssa Fontenot sank a bucket to give the Lady Bulldogs a 16-14 lead that they were able to take into the locker room.
The third quarter began just like the second quarter did, with Ville Platte opening up an eight point advantage mid- way through the period. But just like the second quarter, Sacred Heart came storming back, reeling off the final seven points of the period to find themselves only down by one, 25-24, as the buzzer sounded.
The two teams exchanged baskets throughout the beginning of the fourth quarter. By the 5:26 mark, the Lady Bulldogs began to pull away from the Lady Trojans, never letting the game get closer than five points for the remainder of the contest.
Ville Platte’s Trinity Leday and Kaydan Coward each had 10 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs, while Lafleur put up 13 for Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart (B)
vs. Ville Platte
The final game of the day was not the exciting contest the previous three were as the Ville Platte Bulldogs ran past the Sacred Heart Trojans 77-38.
Ville Platte sprinted out to a 20-6 lead in the first quarter and never really looked back. By halftime the Bulldogs had opened up a 38-18 advantage.
Continuing with the defensive pressure and completing several fast break opportunities, Ville Platte was able to widen that margin to 54-27 as the third quarter closed. Sacred Heart did manage to finish out the game on a strong note, knocking down 11 points in the final period.
Thursday’s Games
Basile (G) vs.
Sacred Heart
In the first elimination game of the tournament, the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans were able to avenge an earlier season loss to the Basile Lady Bearcats when they came away with a 34-24 win to advance to Friday’s action.
Sacred Heart did not get off to a good start in the first period, allowing Basile to gain a 5-2 advantage with 4:38 to play. However, the Lady Trojans closed with a 3-2 run to pull within two as the quarter ended.
The second quarter belonged to Sacred Heart as they began the period by reeling off the first five points. The two teams traded baskets until the Lady Trojans were able knock down the last four points of the quarter with under a minute to go, giving them a 17-14 lead heading into the locker room.
The third quarter did not see many points scored by either team. By the time the horn had sounded to end the period, Sacred Heart owned a 22-17 lead over Basile.
The defining point in the game came in the early part of the fourth period, as the Lady Trojans scored seven of the first nine points to take a 29-19 lead at the 3:22 mark. From that point on, it was just about maintaining their advantage over the Lady Bearcats.
Blair Lafleur and Lauren Shipp each reached double digits for Sacred Heart, scoring 13 points and 12 points respectfully. Reagan Johson and Lainey Soileau each had six points for Basile
Basile (B) vs.
Sacred Heart
Another elimination game, another win for Sacred Heart, as the Trojans downed the Bearcats 46-33 to also advance on to Friday’s action.
A ton of missed opportunities dotted the entire first quarter for both clubs. At the halfway point of the period, Sacred Heart trailed Basile 2-1, but the Trojans put together a small run down the stretch to lead 7-2 as the quarter closed out.
The Bearcats opened the second quarter with a three-point basket, but Sacred Heart responded with four points of their own. The two teams went back and forth exchanging buckets throughout the period and as time out, the Trojans still had their same five point advantage, 21-16, they began the quarter with.
A small four point run to begin the third quarter allowed Basile to cut the Sacred Heart lead down to two points. After a quick time out by the Trojans, Sacred Heart regained those lost points. The Bearcats again made a small run toward the end of the period to cut the Trojan lead down to one, 27-26, as the buzzer sounded.
As close as the game became at the end of the previous period, the fourth quarter belonged to Sacred Heart. At one point, mid-way through the final quarter, the Trojans out scored the Bearcats 8-3 to open up a 39-29 lead with 3:54 to go in the game. From that junction on, it was just a matter of staying the course for Sacred Heart.
Bryce Deville led all Trojan scorers with 12 points, while Wyatt Fontenot chipped in 10 points. Abdul Mlingo was the leading scorer for the Bearcats with 10 points.
Mamou (G) vs.
Pine Prairie
The girl’s winner’s bracket game turned out to be a washout, as the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers eased past the Mamou Lady Demons 35-10. With the loss Mamou moved to the loser’s bracket to face Sacred Heart on Friday, while Pine Prairie advanced to play Ville Platte also on Friday.
The Lady Panthers did not hesitate to jump out on the Lady Demons as they rolled to a 12-5 lead after one quarter of play. If the defensive effort of Pine Prairie was on display in the opening period, it showcased itself in the second quarter with the Lady Panthers holding Mamou to only two total points, taking a 24-7 lead into the locker room.
A scoreless third quarter for the Lady Demons only exasperated matters, giving Pine Prairie a 31-7 advantage as the horn sounded. The fourth quarter was no better, as the teams emptied their bench.
Kameron Allen lit up the boards for Pine Prairie with 12 points, while Jakenzie Wilson led Mamou with five points.
Mamou (B) vs.
Pine Prairie
The Pine Prairie Panther took no prisoners in the final game of the evening, as they rolled past the Mamou Demons 50-35 to advance to Friday’s winner’s bracket game against Ville Platte. The loss for Mamou put them in the loser’s bracket against Sacred Heart, also played Friday.
It was a close game to begin, with the Panthers only leading 13-9 after one quarter of play. However, Pine Prairie opened up the intensity on the defensive side of the ball and out scored the Demons 17-9 in the second period.
It was much of the same in the third quarter, as Pine Prairie’s lead grew to 18, 42-24, by the end of the period. With the game in hand, the Panthers were able to put it in cruise control for the final quarter.
Isaiah Payne put up 21 points for the Panthers, while Mamou’s Mason Tinley scored 19 points.