Pine Prairie participates in Menard Tournament

The Pine Prairie Panthers and Lady Panthers participated in the Menard High School Tournament last week. The Panthers split the two games played to bring their overall record to 18-5 and pick up some much-needed power points.
The Lady Panthers were not as fortunate, losing both contests to drop to 3-11 on the year. Here is a recap of the games played by both squads.

Boys’ Action

Pine Prairie vs. Alexandria
A battle with class 5A Alexandria Senior High began the tournament for the Panthers. The Trojans came into the contest sporting a 17-1 record and ranked number three in the state power rankings. Alexandria proved to be too much for Pine Prairie, as they walked away with a 59-47 win.
The game started close, as the Panthers found themselves only down by six trailing 15-11. A ten point advantage in the second period extended the Trojan lead to 36-22. Alexandria outscored Pine Prairie 13-10 to extend their lead to 49-32 as the third quarter came to a close. The Panthers showed some grit in the final quarter, netting 15 points.
However, it was not enough as the Trojans knocked down 10 points to seal the victory. Allen Myles was the leading scorer in the game for the Panthers, chipping in 16 points.

Pine Prairie vs. Menard
The best way to overcome a tough loss is to take it out on your next opponent. That is just what Pine Prairie did as they faced the Menard Eagles in game two of the tournament. The Panthers left no doubt who the better team was as they walked away with a 73-30 win over the Eagles.
The first quarter did not start out so good for Pine Prairie, as they trailed 14-10 by the time the period ended. The Panthers came out in the second quarter imposing their will, outscoring Menard 26-10 to take the 36-24 first half lead.
Defense was the name of the game in the third period, as Pine Prairie held the Eagles to only four points, while netting 17 points and extended their lead to 53-28. Another suffocating defensive effort in the final quarter saw the Panthers outpace Menard 20-2 to seal the victory.
Leading the way in the scoring department for Pine Prairie was Douglas Fontenot, who chipped in 14 points. Vontrevis Freeman and Sylus Carson each added 10 points for the Panthers.

Girls’ Action

Pine Prairie vs. Menard
The Lady Panthers took on the host team, Menard in the first tournament contest. The Lady Eagles held Pine Prairie to single digits in every quarter, as they defeated the Lady Panthers 38-22.
The first quarter ended with Menard taking the 12-6 lead. A ten point second quarter saw the Lady Eagles extend their lead to 23-17 as the first half closed. Pine Prairie was only able to score four points in the third quarter and trailed 30-17 at the end of the period. Menard closed out the game with an 8-5 advantage in the final period. The Lady Panthers were lead by Kaitlyn Bradley, who netted 11 points in the loss.

Pine Prairie vs. Bolton
Bolton High School was the next opponent for the Lady Panthers. Pine Prairie led in the first and third quarters but was not able to hold on to that lead down the stretch. The Lady Bears used a seven point advantage in the final period to take the 50-39 win.
The Lady Panthers started strong, taking an 11-8 lead as the first quarter ended. Bolton came back in the second period to overtake Pine Prairie and lead 21-19 as the second quarter buzzer sounded. A 14 point third period gave the Lady Panthers a 33-27 lead. However, the Lady Bears were able to outscore Pine Prairie 13-6 to finish the game. Kaitlyn Bradley was once again the leading scorer for the Lady Panthers, as she knocked down 12 points in the contest.