VPHS retains Evangeline Parish crown

When the Evangeline Parish basketball finals commenced Saturday evening, the final scores in both finals showed what many of the last several Evangeline Parish championships have.
In the girl’s finals, Ville Platte High dominated Basile 72-16. Deja McKinney put up 16 points in the first half alone. She rained down 10 points in the first period and ended the game with a team high of 22 points. Breanna Pete served as McKinney’s partner in crime. She spread out 18 points over four periods. The Lady Bulldogs took a 38-11 score into the locker room at the half.
The boy’s game was just a bit closer. Pine Prairie gave the Bulldogs all they could handle. In fact, the Panthers led in this game until midway through the fourth period.
The Panthers were hot right out of the gate. Douglas Fontenot nailed back-to-back three-point shots and Josh Freeman added one of his own. The Panthers were up 13-4 when the first period finally ended.
The stunned defending champions bounced back in the second period. A 16-point period allowed the Bulldogs to climb back into the game. A three-point shot from Ernest Ardoin fired up the VPHS crowd. After that, Brandon Dommick answered with a pair of jump shots. Before too long, the Panthers had to fire back. Fontenot drained a pair of jump shots and a pair of free throws. The two teams were not letting up. The Panthers took a 24-20 lead into the locker room.
As the final period started, Pine Prairie held a 36-33 lead, which was good, but would it be good enough? The Bulldogs were building momentum and it seemed like a matter of time. Sure enough, the VPHS unit caught fire and rained down 20 points in the final period. Malcolm Seraille dropped six points and helped get things going. Dommick hit another six points en route to a 10-point night, along with Seraille. When all the dust settled, VPHS took a 53-43 win over the PPHS boys to retain the title.
Ardoin finished the night with a team high 12 points for the Bulldogs. Fontenot paced Pine Prairie with 17 points and Freeman was good for nine points.
Games leading up to the finals featured some very exciting games.
SHHS 51 Mamou 50
The Trojans and Demons battled hard in this game. Mamou held a 24-15 lead going into the half. Dallas Gallow led Mamou with 10 points in the first period alone and finished the game with 15 points.
The fourth period featured an amazing performance from Seth Shipp and Sean Fontenot. The duo combined for 16 points in the period and helped the Trojans catch the Demons. Brad Fontenot was also big with six points in the final period.
Mamou was in command most of the game, but they missed several free throws in the final period which came back to haunt them. The Demons were eight of 25 from the line..
VPHS 70 Basile 26
The Lady Bulldogs crushed Basile in the semi-finals. They blasted out to a 27-6 lead over the Lady Bearcats. By halftime it was 40-18 in the favor of the Lady Bulldogs.
McKinney finished the game with a team high 24 points. James led Basile with 11 points.
VPHS 56 PPHS 52
Ville Platte High edged the Panthers in the semi-finals. The preview of the finals was a good game. The two teams traded buckets all game long. The Panthers held a 24-21 lead in the half and held a 37-32 lead going into the final period. Douglas Fontenot was on fire for the Panthers with 19 overall and three triple-point buckets. Josh Freeman also had 13 points, with a pair of three-point shots in the third period.
In the end, the defending parish champs pulled out the win. Kendall Ardoin completed the night with 11 points, while Ernest Ardoin hit 12 digits.
PPHS 49 SHHS 46
The Trojans of Sacred Heart came out strong in the game to determine who would play Ville Platte High in the finals. The host team went up 9-7 in the first period, but fell behind in the second period. Pine Prairie’s Douglas Fontenot hit a three-point shot and Freeman added one of his own. The Panthers went up 23-17 at the half and managed to keep the lead the remainder of the game. The Trojans gave it a run in the final period but came up short.
Fontenot led PPHS with 15 points, while Freeman was good for 12 points. Byron Jackson also had a good night with 12 points as well.
Keaton Tate scored 11 points for the Trojans, while Sean Fontenot led the group with 18 points.