Mamou Demons, Lady Demons sweep Dequincy at home

MAMOU -- The past two seasons, Mamou High’s Lil’ Paul Williams left a game against DeQuincy with a broken tooth.
“Two years ago I was going up for a dunk and they threw me off the rim and I fell and broke my tooth,” Williams said. “Last year I got elbowed in the mouth and it broke again.”
This time around, Williams would not be leaving the game with a missing molar as he helped lead Mamou to a 65-25 beat down of visiting DeQuincy on Friday night, in the District 4-2A opener for both squads.
“We came out with a lot of energy tonight,” Mamou coach John Jack said. “We really fed off that tonight.
With the game tied 4-4, Mamou’s Carlos Burnes gave his team the spark it needed.
The Demons guard scored back-to-back buckets to give his team a four-point lead. Then it was Williams’ turn to contribute as he would score on a putback and then drained a pair of three-pointers in the final minute, which helped give Mamou (9-9, 1-0) a comfortable 16-6 lead at the end of the first period.
Williams would end the night with a team-high 13 points.
“I just came off the bench and the coaches told us to put it on them and that’s what we did,” Williams said. “They were just giving me space out there and I just pulled the trigger.”
Mamou didn’t take its foot off the glass in the second period as Mack Thomas started things off by draining a three-pointer in the left corner. That sparked a 12-0 run for the Demons. By halftime, Mamou had built up a sizable lead as the Demons held a 24-point advantage over the visiting Tigers.
“We were able to get some easy baskets early because of our press,” Jack said. “We were able to dictate the tempo of the game.”
The third quarter proved to be entertaining as it featured numerous dramatic moments in the first two minutes of the period.
Not one but two fans from DeQuincy (12-5, 0-1) were escorted out of the gym by the request of officials, and with assistance by Mamou Police Department. Then after a fast-break slam dunk by Williams, DeQuincy’s Kewan Chanier fouled Mamou’s big man Russell Edwards on the way to the bucket which drew a technical foul and an even louder roar from the home crowd.
After all that excitement, Mamou held a comfortable 57-17 lead at the end of the period and then cruised to the 40-point victory.
In addition to Williams, Mamou was led by Edwards who also had 13 points, and Burnes who added 10.
Next up for Mamou is a game Tuesday at Welsh, the only team that defeated them in the district play last year, a team they had to share the district championship with.
“We know if we want to get a leg up in this district then Tuesday’s game is a big game for us. We need to go out and get that win.”

GIRLS
Mamou 60,
DeQuincy 49
The Mamou Lady Demons picked up its first District 4-2A win with a 60-49 win over visiting DeQuincy.
The game was a physical contest that was marred with sloppy play, more than 40 fouls and even a pair of technical fouls.
Mamou (14-7, 1-1) held a slim 10-8 lead after the first quarter and had to fight off a tough effort from DeQuincy to start the second quarter. After tying the game to start the period, the Lady Tigers would take a 14-12 lead with 5:41 left in period after Zaria Anderson made a bank shot.
Mamou would respond as Kiajah Wilson dished off a fast break pass to Tavia Gallow for the easy bucket, which sparked a 7-0 run for the Lady Demons.
Mamou would enter the break with a 27-22 lead.
DeQuincy (14-5, 1-1) though could never truly cut into that lead as Mamou started the third on a 6-0 run. The Lady Demons entered the final period with a 12-point lead and never let their lead drop below double digits.
Mamou was led on the night by Darelzray Bellard who had 18 points, while Wilson had 12, and Kazhana Richard and Gallow each added nine.