Coming up short

PINE PRAIRIE -- The 2016 Pine Prairie Invitational Tournament came to a conclusion this past Saturday and the two host teams were both in the mix for tournament titles.
Unfortunately for both the Pine Prairie Panthers and Lady Panthers a championship was not in the cards, as both clubs fell in the tournament finals.
In the boy’s championship, the Panthers faced off against former Pine Prairie head coach Chris Guillory and his Northwest Raiders. Despite holding a halftime lead, Pine Prairie missed a golden opportunity at a first place trophy in dropping a 59-46 decision to the Raiders.
The girl’s championship was not as close as the boy’s championship. The Lady Panthers failed to get into double digits in any of the four quarters played, as they surrendered a 41-23 loss to Plainview.
Other parish teams took part in the tournament with some success.
The Mamou Demons were able to secure a 50-48 consolation finals win over Class 5A Barbe. The Demons utilized their size and speed throughout the game to hold off a late charge from the Buccaneers.
Meanwhile, the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans were defeated by the Northwest Lady Raiders 51-47 in the consolation semi-finals.
Here is a re-cap of the games played on Friday and Saturday.

Sacred Heart (G)
vs. Northwest
Erin Fontenot and Catherine Poche each chipped in 14 points for the Sacred Heart Lady Trojans, but it was not enough as they fell to Northwest in a consolation game.
The Lady Raiders took the lead early, jumping out to a 13-9 lead after one quarter of play. Sacred Heart tried to pull themselves back in the game outscoring Northwest 15-14 in the second quarter.
The Lady Raiders moved out to a 45-30 lead after the third period. The Lady Trojans made a run in the fourth quarter by knocking down 17 points to Northwest’s six points, but it was not enough to overcome the large deficit.

Mamou (B) vs.
Plainview
It was a one-sided affair in the boy’s consolation semi-final game, as the Mamou Demons left no doubt in their 78- 36 defeat of Plainview.
The Demons came out on fire in the first half, scoring 20 and 18 points respectfully in the first two periods to open up a 38-18 lead over the Hornets.
Plainview had no chance in the second half, as Mamou filled the nets with 40 more points and held Plainview to 18 points once again.
Carlos Burns led all Demon scorers with 15 points.

Crowley (B)
vs. Northwest
In a game to decide who would face Pine Prairie in the finals, the Northwest Raiders took a 36-25 first half lead and then held on for dear life in a 62-59 win over the Crowley Gents.
Crowley made a comeback attempt in the second part of the game by out pacing Northwest 22-15 in the third quarter and 12-11 in the fourth quarter.
But, the Raiders were able hold on at the end.
Crowley (B)
vs. Barbe
A low scoring affair infected the boy’s consolation semi-finals on Saturday morning, as the Barbe Buccaneers scored a 47-37 win over the Crowley Gents.
Not many basketballs filtered their way through the nets in the first half, as Crowley owned a 20-14 lead going into the locker room.
The second half turned a little more offensive for Barbe, as they were able to put 33 points on the board, including 23 fourth quarter points to secure the win.

Crowley (G)
vs. Northwest
The girls’ consolation finals started slow offensively, but finished in flurry, as the Northwest Lady Raiders defeated the Crowley Ladies 61-45.
Not much happened scoring wise in the first quarter, as Northwest only held a 9-5 lead at the end of the period.
However, a 28-10 advantage in the second quarter spelled the difference for the Lady Raiders.

Barbe (B)
vs. Mamou
The consolation finals came down to the end for both Mamou and Barbe, with the two teams trading baskets throughout the first half.
The Demons were able to hold a slim 29-27 lead because of a one-point advantage in each of the first two quarters of play.
The second half proved to be the difference for Mamou. The Demons outpaced the Buccaneers 16-11 in the third quarter and held on for the win despite being outscored 10-5 in the final period.
Russell Edwards led the way for the Demons with 18 points.

Pine Prairie (G)
vs. Plainview
Simply put, the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers could not produce any offense in their title game loss to Plainview.
The Lady Panthers were held to seven and five points respectfully in the first two quarters, as the Lady Hornets moved out to a 25-12 lead heading into halftime.
Things were not much better for Pine Prairie in the second half. The Lady Panthers only managed four points in the third quarter, as the Lady Hornets scorched the net for 14 points.
Despite the loss, Pine Prairie’s Sarah Vidrine was good for 12 of the Lady Panther’s 23 total points.

Pine Prairie (B)
vs. Northwest
It seemed as if the Pine Prairie Panthers were on their way to hoisting the championship trophy, as they jumped out to a 21-6 lead after one half of play.
However, the Northwest Raiders seemed to shift into another gear in the second half.
The Raiders came out of the locker room and outscored the Panthers 24-12 in the third quarter to take a 36-33 lead going into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw much of the same, as Northwest outdueled Pine Prairie 23-13 in the final eight minutes to secure the win and the tournament title.
Isaiah Payne led the Panthers with 17 points.