MINDEN, La. &045; The effort didn’t go unnoticed by their coach and everyone at the Glenbrook gym.

Just not the guys controlling the scoreboard.

Huntington’s Hounds whittled down a 21-point deficit to three late in the game before dropping a 67-60 decision to Claiborne Academy in the opening round of the MPSA Class A South State tournament in Minden, La.

The loss ends the season for the Hounds (13-13). Claiborne moves on to face Briarfield Wednesday.

&uot;We were a little sluggish in the first half, but I couldn’t have been more prouder of our boys in the second half,&uot; Huntington head coach Michael McAnally said. &uot;We gave ourselves a chance to win but never could get over the hump. A lot of teams would have rolled over, but we went out playing hard. That’s all I can ask of them.&uot;

The Rebels, the No. 3 seed out of District 6, started off strong with a 16-11 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 16-9 run in the second to take a 32-20 lead at halftime.

The Rebels raced out to the 21-point lead halfway through the third quarter before the Hounds regrouped and trailed 46-33 at half and cut it to three with four minutes left in the game.

Claiborne then hit 12 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter to claim the win.

Daniel Bays led Claiborne with 24 points.

&uot;They did what they had to do to hold us off,&uot; McAnally said. &uot;They’re just real physical. They pounded the ball inside to the Bays kid, and he was a left-hander. He gave us a different look. We knew we had to pick up the tempo. We went to a full-court man-to-man defense, and our pressure really gave them trouble. It just seemed like when we needed one to get over the hump the ball wouldn’t go through the iron.&uot;

Top scorers for Huntington were Jordan Owens with 15, Josh Olds with 14 and Patrick Clayton with 12.

Central girls 52, Tensas 49

The Lady Chiefs’ 3-pointer at the buzzer from way out didn’t go, but that was the case most of the night for them.

Tensas had a tough night from the line, hitting just 13 of 38 free throws, before ending the season 21-7. Central moves on to play District 5 champion Humphreys Wednesday.

&uot;We started off with a pretty good lead, and they played a lot of people,&uot; Tensas head coach Allen Crigler said. &uot;They were fouling a lot and sending us to the line. We shot terrible from the line, especially in the first half. We couldn’t hit a free throw.&uot;

The Lady Chiefs led 14-6 by the end of the first, but Central answered with a 16-7 run in the second to lead 22-21 and make a game of it in the second half.

Megan Bauerle led Tensas with 14 points. Central’s top scorer was Melissa Anderson with 21.

GCS boys 52, Tensas 50

The Chiefs had a desperation 3-pointer from way out not fall as the buzzer sounded on a loss that ended their season at 9-16.

The miss ended a rally in the fourth from Greenville, who trailed 34-31 at the end of the third quarter. Tensas trailed 21-18 at half but outscored Greenville 16-10 in the third.

Tyler White led Tensas with 19 points.