Turkey Tournament shows off area talent

The 2013 Sacred Heart Turkey Tournament kicked off over the Thanksgiving Holidays. The success continues to follow this event that the SHHS coaching staff put together. Several teams from Evangeline Parish were in attendance to show their stuff on the hardwood. The Mamou Lady Demons managed to win their bracket.
In the boy’s brackets, things kicked off when Pine Prairie collided with the Carencro Bears. The Panthers fell short 73-42 despite a good showing. It was just a four-point game at the halfway point, before CHS pulled away.
Douglas Fonteonot led the Panthers with 12 points.
Mamou was defeated by Opelousas Catholic 50-38 in a contest of Class 2A opponents. The Demons kept it close for most of the game, thanks to the outstanding performance from Russell Edwards. The power forward put up 10 points in the game for the Demons.
The host team, Sacred Heart, crushed St. Ed’s 69-37. The Trojans were led by Shawn Fontenot who nailed down 19 points. Fontenot was especially strong in the first period with nine points. Late in the game, Fontenot got hot from long distance, hitting a pair of three-point shots. .
Basile fell short to Carencro 66-19. The Bearcats were dominated from start to finish as the Bears were just too strong. The Class 5A team slowed the Basile attack tremendously. Kashawn Murphy scored 11 digits in the game for Basile.
Pine Prairie and Mamou squared off in a very close game. The Panthers and Demons battled to a close 51-49 contest. This game went down to the wire, but it was the free throw shooting of the Panthers that helped them pull away.
Douglas Fontenot hit 18 points to lead the Panthers and Byron Jackson was good for 11 digits.
Mamou was led by Dylan Manuel with 13 points. The MHS duo of Russell Edwards and Dallas Edwards each scored 11 points.
Sacred Heart fell to Iota 43-66. The SHHS boys were led by Seth Manuel with 13 points and Keaton Tate helped with 10 points. The Bulldogs used a tough defensive stand in the second half to take the win.
Pine Prairie ran past Basile 84-25 in a battle of parish western teams. Pine Prairie came out strong and never let go. Three different PPHS players struck for double digits. Vontrevis Thomas hit 15 points and Sylas Carson banked 12 points. Jackson was big on defense for PPHS and he also scored 10 points.
Pine Prairie also found a way to win over Class 3A power Livonia. The Panthers were a 52-49 winner in a late game on Wednesday. Douglas Fontenot led the charge with 15 points and Jackson was good for 12 digits. Allen Myles also helped with 10 points and he put up a strong show on defense.
The girl’s bracket started off with a match-up between Opelousas Catholic and the Mamou Lady Demons. Mamou cruised by the Lady Vikings 75-35 and made it look easy.
Dareleray Bellard ripped the basket for 22 points, including a pair of three-point buckets. Amber Jack helped Mamou’s cause with 12 points and Kiajah Wilson nailed down 10 points.
Sacred Heart edged out the Pine Prairie Lady Panthers 59-50 on opening day. Heather Johnson caught fire early for the host team and couldn’t be stopped. She banked 27 points overall. Heather Fontenot pitched in with 10 points.
Pine Prairie was equally impressive. The Lady Panthers’ charge helped to keep the game close. Olivia Chappelle led PPHS on defense and added 10 points. Kaitlyn Bradley was the leader on offense. She scored 26 points in the game.
Basile fell short 51-43 to Port Barre. The Lady Bearcats made a valiant effort but could not move past their Class 3A opponent. Rylie James led Basile in the losing effort with 20 points.
Basile bounced back and crushed St. Ed’s 48-36. Meagan Johnson had a super night on the court. She scored 32 points to lead Basile.
Pine Prairie outlasted the Opelousas Catholic girls 41-31. The precision shooting of Kaitlyn Bradley made it hard for the Lady Vikings to get any momentum going. Bradley ended the night with 13 points and she led the team on defense.
Mamou overcame Sacred Heart 55-37. The contest remained close until the end. Bellard helped Mamou pull away with 20 points overall. Catherine Poche led the Lady Trojans with 13 points.
Basile edged the Lady Vikings of Opelousas Catholic 47-35. It was a good game all the way down to the wire. Basile’s Maggie led her squad in the winning effort. She scored 14 points in the game.
The event will go down as one of the better ones in the history of the Turkey Tournament. Sacred Heart continues to do a great job with the event. A big congrats goes out to Coach Stephanie Fontenot and Coach Andrw Dwyer on a job well done.
All of the teams in Evangeline Parish will be getting it on at the Parish Tournament this weekend at Sacred Heart High School.