VPHS cruises toward finals at EP Tourney

The Evangeline Parish Tournament kicked off at Sacred Heart High School and the hoops action got hot early. The reigning champs, Ville Platte High, walked through the brackets and moved toward the finals. The Bulldogs and the Lady Bulldogs were all about defending their titles and they were not going to let any team come close to their respective crowns.
The following is a run down of the first two rounds of the action
GIRLS BRACKET
Basile 54 PPHS 38
Basile took the opening lead and never let up. The Lady Bearcats battled hard on the shooting of Riley James who led Basile with 17 points on the night. Maggie McGeehee pitched in with 11 points in the game. Pine Prairie fought hard and was in the game for the most part, except for a tough second round. Olivia Chapelle ended the night with 21 points, while Kaitlyn Bradley hit 12 points,
MHS 38 VPHS 67
The defending champions went on top early in this game and did not look back. The Lady Bulldogs held a 29-17 lead at the half. Four Lady Bulldogs had 10 points or more. Deja McKinney led the charge with 20 points and Tyreonna Doucet was good for 18 points. Breonna Pete finished the night with 11 points and Shalinda Thomas was good for 10 digits.
Mamou’s Ashley Thomas scored 20 points but it was not enough for MHS to overtake the Bulldogs.
MHS 46 PPHS 37
Pine Prairie took an early lead in this one. Their one-bucket was enough to keep Mamou off for the first half of the game. PPHS was up 33-32 at the halftime, but then the Lady Demons fired back and took the lead in the second half.
Kaitlyn Bradley led PPHS with 12 points, while Darelzeray Bellard and Amber jack each scored 12 points for Mamou.
Basle 47 SHHS 44
The Lady Trojans were edged by Basile in their first game. The two teams traded baskets and traded the lead over and over. Basile was up 27-25 at the half. Heather Johnson paced the Lady Trojans with 13 points in the first period and 28 overall.
Rylie James helped BHS keep the lead in the final period. She ended her night with 16 points to lead Basile.
SHHS 32 MHS 45
This game started out close, but Mamou pulled away and earned a shot in the semi-finals. The Lady Demons were led by Kamaneisha Wilson with 14 points. She guided the Lady Demons to a halftime score of 30-14.
Courtney Cloud and Heather Fontenot each scored eight points for the Lady Trojans.
BOY’S BRACKET
Basile 31 PPHS 47
Basile found themselves overwhelmed early. Pine Prairie’s fast moving defense limited the Cats, while the Panthers went up 30-19 at the mid-way point.
Gabe Fontenot paced Basile with seven points, while Colton Chaddrick and Josh Freeman each scored nine points.
MHS 44 VPHS 60
The defending champions fell behind in the first period, as Mamou came out on fire. The Bulldogs battled back and tied the game at 30-30.
Halftime adjustments allowed the Bulldogs to pull ahead and go up in the second half.
Russell Edwards led the Demons with 13 points. Ville Platte was guided by Ernest Ardoin with 18 points.
MHS 100 Basile 40
Basile was completely overwhelmed by a talented Mamou team that was frustrated after a good match up against VPHS.
Mamou’s Nathaniel Holland scored 11 points.
SHHS 48 PPHS 72
Pine Prairie earned a trip into the semi-finals with a big victory over the Trojans. The SHHS boys fought hard but could not overcome the PPHS surge in the second period.
Pine Prairie was led by Douglas Fontenot with an amazing 34 points. He hit seven three-point shots in the game. Allen Myles knocked down 13 digits.
Sacred Heart was led by Sean Fontenot with 21 points.
The semi-finals and finals will be highlighted in Thursday’s sports section.