Team effort

PINE PRAIRIE —According to Pine Prairie head coach Chris Guillory, the Panthers may have found the team chemistry that has been lacking for the first part of the season.
That team effort was a huge plus for the Panthers, as Pine Prairie picked up a huge 80-68 District 5-3A win over Church Point here Tuesday night.
“I was very excited with the kids playing more as a unit tonight,” stated Guillory. “We have had a starter that left and a new starter coming in. Sometimes it is hard for a team to gel with that type of transition.”
“But, I really got the feeling that for the first time this year, everyone looked comfortable on the floor. I thought we played especially well on defense tonight. Overall, I was pleased with the effort tonight against a very good Church Point team.”
It took the Panthers some time in the first quarter to get things going on the offensive side of the court.
The athleticism of Church Point showed, as the Panthers were unable to get the ball down inside to their post players.
However, four three-point baskets, two of those from Vontrevis Thomas, helped produce a seven point lead, 18-11, for Pine Prairie as the first quarter ended.
Church Point cut the lead to three on back-to-back baskets, as the second quarter opened up.
After trading baskets over the next four minutes, the Panthers went on a 10-7 run to bring the lead to 35-27 with 2:09 left before half.
Church Point hit both ends of a one and one to close the gap to six.
Pine Prairie responded with a another three point basket from Douglas Fontenot and concluded the second quarter knocking down one of three free throws with one second left on the clock to take a 40-30 lead into the locker room.
With renewed confidence in the offense, the Panthers came into the third quarter firing on all cylinders.
A combination of tenacious defense and spot on shooting, allowed Pine Prairie to go on an 11-6 run in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
With that run, the Panthers now had a 55-36 lead and just needed to hold pat to finish the game.
Church Point tried to ease their way back into the game outscoring Pine Prairie 9-4 in the last three minutes of the quarter.
But, it was not quite enough, as the Panthers still held a big advantage, taking a 62-45 lead into the final period.
It much of the same in the fourth quarter, with Pine Prairie continuing to hold Church Point at bay.
The Bears did make a small run at the end of the game, mostly against the Panther bench players, to outmatch Pine Prairie 23-18 in the quarter.
Three players put up twenty points or more for the Panthers in the game.
Fontenot poured in 26 points, Thomas added 21 points, while Darnell Durgin chipped in 20 points on the night.
Pine Prairie will travel to Port Barre Friday night in another key district match-up for both squads.