For the second time in as many tournaments, the Oakdale Warriors and Fairview Panthers clashed in the final game. While the latter came down to a buzzer beater trey to give Fairview the win, the former was a relatively easy 87-52 Warrior victory to win the 2019 Allen Parish Basketball Tournament.
“It feels really good,” said head Oakdale coach George Thomas IV after winning the parish tournament in his first year at the school.
He added, “We’ve not been playing of late like the way we started the season. We’ve kind of been struggling, but in these past couple we’ve gotten back on track. I’m real proud of the guys. They’re playing hard.”
Over on the girls’ bracket, the championship game featured a state semi finalist from last season in the Fairview Lady Panthers and a state finalist in the Reeves Lady Raiders.
Both teams seem poised this season to make another run to Alexandria, but, after the final horn sounded in the parish tournament, it was the Class B squad who went home with the championship trophy after an 89-55 win.
“We knew Reeves was really good,” said head Fairview coach Kyle Jinks. “It’s probably the best Reeves team I’ve seen in the 23 years I’ve been here. They’re fast. They shoot the ball well. They got good guard play, and they’re hard to guard.”
As for his team, Jinks is cognizant of the fact his team needs to keep getting better. “Our defense has got to get better, and our rebounding has got to get better,” he said.
Jinks’ team looks to work on those areas in the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Basketball Classic which begins today at the Alario Center in Harvey. “I think that’s going to prepare us for the playoffs,” commented the Fairview coach. “Right, now it’s not about winning and losing. It’s about getting better. In February and March, that’s when you don’t want to lose.
The following is a recap of the games played on the last day of the parish tournament on Saturday, December 21.
Girls’ Consolation Game
Oakdale vs Oberlin
The only points the Lady Warriors scored in the first quarter were a layup from Lauren Holmes along with a layup and two free throws from Zakariah Slaughter. Over the same 8:00, the Lady Tigers put 19 points on the scoreboard on their way to the 60-49 win.
Holmes finished the game with 27 points, and Slaughter finished with 16. Leading Oberlin in scoring was Kristian Anderson with 21 points. Also scoring in double-digits was Kayle Wolfe with 11.
Boys’ Consolation Game
Reeves vs Kinder
The Raiders were held to single-digits on the scoreboard in three of the four quarters in their 62-25 loss to the Yellow Jackets. The only quarter where they broke double-digits was the third when they scored 10 points.
Kaden Ford led his Raiders with 11 points. Also scoring for Reeves were Robert Cauthron with 8, Jayce Reeves with 4, and Caleb Todd with 2. On the other end of the court, Trytan Pope led Kinder with 15 points, and Grant Cooley added 10 to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Girls’ Third Place Game
Kinder vs Elizabeth
The Lady Yellow Jackets finished the tournament in third place after a 64-53 win over the Lady Bulldogs.Twenty-four of Kinder’s points came from Brooklyn Fontenot. Tyja’Nae May added 15, Tanyjah Plumber added 11, and Hadley Lemons added 10.
For Elizabeth, Cassie Smith knocked down 17 points, and Sydney Dyer was just off the pace with 14.
Boys’ Third Place Game
Elizabeth vs Oberlin
After trailing 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs rattled off enough points to win the third place trophy by a final score of 54-46.
Aiden Soileau led his Bulldogs with 24 points, and Travis Hess added 10. For the Tigers, Jordyn Artis led his squad with 14 points and was the only player to reach double-digit points.
Girls’ Championship Game
Reeves vs Fairview
Maggie Manuel garnered 22 points in her Lady Panthers’ win with 12 of her points coming from beyond the arc. Also drilling four treys for Fairview was CoCo Williams, who finished the afternoon with 17 points, and Rylee Cloud, who ended the game with 14 points. The Lady Panthers also got a pair of three-point baskets from Laynee Jinks and Sassy Reeves.
For the Lady Raiders, it was all Claire Dunnehoo who garnered 22 points for her squad. No other Reeves player scored double-digit points. However, Reeves got a pair of three-pointers from Dunnehoo and Maddie Ford. Ford finished the game with eight points.
Fairview jumped out to a 19-6 lead after the first 8:00 and added 26 points in the second quarter to lead 46-24 at the half. An 18-point differential came in the third quarter as Fairview pulled away with 29 points holding Reeves to just 11. Reeves outpaced Fairview 20-14 in the final quarter, but it was not enough to claim the crown.
Boys’ Championship Game
Fairview vs Oakdale
Ethan Williams, who drilled the game winning three pointer in Pitkin a week earlier, accounted for 20 of Fairview’s 52 points. The only other Panther to reach double figures was Dillon Cloud with 12 points.
On the other hand, a trio of Warriors, Leon Posey, Jakoby Hobson, and Jonathan Davis, scored 21 points each. Just off the pace with 18 points was Marion White. Most of the Warrior damage came from field goals and free throws as Oakdale only made three three-pointers.
Oakdale enjoyed a slim 13-10 lead after the first quarter but stepped on the gas in the second quarter on its way to lead 29-19 at the half. The Warriors then held the Panthers to 10 points in the third quarter while scoring 24 points over the same time period.
“I think the guys were really focused and wanted to come out and make a statement,” Thomas said after the game. “We have some challenging opponents coming up, but we have some stuff to look forward to. We can’t hold on to this win too long.”
Not long after the beginning of the new year comes the district part of the Warriors’ schedule. Thomas commented, “I think we’re playing well right now to where we can hopefully keep this up going into district. Everything is coming together at the right time, I think.”