Avoiding the sting

MAMOU — The Mamou Demons and the Lady Demons looked to avoid the sting as they hosted the Kinder Yellow Jackets and Lady Yellow Jackets in key district contests here Friday night.
The Lady Demons had already felt the sting of the Lady Jackets just five games earlier in Kinder, as they fell by 10 points.
Mamou hoped to avoid another Jacket attack and stay two games behind Lake Arthur in the district title hunt.
The Lady Demons were able to do just that as they pulled away late in the game for a 60-45 win.
In the nightcap, the Demons were also hoping to keep pace in the District 4-2A race, as they came into the game against Kinder two games behind league leader Welsh.
It was the advantage in height that eventually gave Mamou the edge in a down-to-the-wire 67-62 victory.
The opening game Friday night saw the Lady Demons come out of the gates very sluggish on offense, as the Lady Yellow Jackets held an 11-3 lead with two minutes left in the first quarter.
Mamou picked up the pace toward the end of the period, but still trailed 16-7 as the horn sounded to end the period.
The Lady Demons rapidly changed the pace to start the second quarter and began the period on a 9-0 run to tie the game up.
Kinder answered with a 7-0 run of their own over the next 1:30 of the quarter. However, Mamou was able to crawl back into the game and cut the lead to 27-25 as the first half came to a close.
The third quarter see-sawed back and forth, with neither team gaining an advantage. As the period ended the game was tied at 38-38.
Mamou owned the final period, as they slowly pulled away from Kinder. At the 3:11 mark, the Lady Demons were up by 10, 53-43, and never looked back.
Ka’zhana Richard scorched the nets for 24 points to lead the Lady Demons.
With the win, Mamou is now 17-8 on the year and 4-2 in district play.
The boy’s game was an even closer contest the whole game through.
Mamou took advantage of their height and athleticism from the opening tip, scoring the first six points on three huge dunks.
Kinder worked themselves back into the game, taking a 10-9 lead at the 3:09 mark of the first quarter.
Mamou regained the lead one minute later and stretched that lead to 18-13 as the first period came to an end.
The Demons widened the margin by scoring the first seven points of the second quarter and would stay in charge until the final 3:52 of the period.
It was at that point, the Yellow Jackets began to assert themselves defensively and knocked down the next 13 out of 18 points to cut the Mamou lead down to 37-35 heading into the locker room at halftime.
Mamou took control of the game once again in the third quarter. With the game tied at 39-39 with six minutes left in the period, the Demons went on an 11-0 run.
By the time the third quarter closed, Mamou held a 54-47 lead.
But, Kinder was not done. The Yellow Jackets fought their way back and held a 59-58 lead with 3:21 left in the game.
In the end, the Demons used their height advantage once again to put the game away and pick up the win.
Tammrick Thomas led Mamou with 24 points.
The Demons are now 10-12 on the season and 3-2 in the District 4-2A standings.