By T. Scott Boatright
Ruston High School’s boys basketball played three games over the holiday, taking road wins at Saline on Friday (60-27) and at Ringgold on Saturday (74-20) falling to Bossier 62-46 on Tuesday.
The RHS girls picked up a pair of wins, 30-27 at Haughton on Saturday and 49-40 at Lake Arthur on Monday before falling 62-59 at Hathaway on Tuesday.
Ruston, now 2-2, will next play at Bossier on Tuesday.
LINCOLN PREP
Lincoln Prep evened its season at 1-1 as the Panthers used a strong second half Tuesday night to top the Rams 73-59.
The game was tied 12-12 at the end of the first quarter before the Panthers took a 32-29 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
But the Panthers roared away in the second half, outsourcing Richwood 24-18 in the third stanza and 17-12 in the fourth.
Dmitry Payne led the Panthers with 20 points, seven steals and four assists while adding five rebounds.
Braylyn Bayfield was the other double-digit scorer for Lincoln Prep with 10 points along with six rebounds, two steals, two blocked shots and two assists.
Emanuel Bryant totaled nine points , five rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Panthers, who also got eight points each from Ta’Rell Simmons and DJ Jackson while Stephen Burks chipped in with seven.
The Panthers return to the court on Tuesday for a game at Union Parish.
Lincoln Prep’s girls team didn’t play over the past week.
CHOUDRANT
Choudrant’s boys basketball team now stands at 4-4 after a 46-32 home win over Downsville on Friday followed by a pair of tough losses as the Aggies fell 43-40 to Sterlington on Monday to West Ouachita by the score of 52-51 on Tuesday at the West Ouachita tournament.
In a big Homecoming win over Downsville, Jackson Case led Choudrant with 13 points while Trey Harris, Parker Batterton and Amarion Simonton added 10 points each for the Aggies.
Choudrant led from start to finish, holding a 20-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter and holding Downsville scoreless in the final stanza.
Then came the two tough losses at the West Ouachita Tournament.
“We lost two heartbreakers in back to back days,” CHS coach Ryan Smith said. “Sterlington hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left on Monday. The young man made a great individual play. Then on Tuesday, we were tied with West Ouachita and a foul was called at the end (.1 seconds on the clock). Credit to the West Ouachita player who hit the clutch free throw to win.
“I’m really proud of this group of players. They continue to fight and grow in their new roles. We are asking players to go beyond their comfort zones and they are not hesitating at all. It’s a fun group to be around.”
The Choudrant girls upped their record to 7-3 with wins over Downsville last Friday and over Sterlington on Tuesday and a 66-37 loss to Ouachita Christian on Monday.
In the win over Downsville last Friday, Kylee Portilloz and Aly Thomas led the way for the Lady Aggies with 17 points each.
Scoring was harder to do against a tough Lady Eagles team at the OCS Tournament on Monday as Portilloz and Thomas again led the Lady Aggies with nine points each while Mattie Johnson and Brelyn Pyle chipped in with eight points each.
Portilloz capped off her big week by again leading Choudrant scorers in the OCS tourney win over Sterlington on Tuesday with 22 points while Johnson added 10 for the Lady Aggies.
SIMSBORO
The Simsboro Tigers have gotten off to a 9-1 start but found out a team can always strive to get better game by game after the Delhi Bears outscored SHS 24-19 in the final stanza for a 63-60 win at the Epps Tournament last Friday night.
The next game for the 2-4 Lady Tigers will be a home contest against Epps on Thursday.
