at Sunkist

By

staff reports

LAFAYETTE, La. &8212; If there is one tournament that the Natchez High Bulldogs usually play good in, it&8217;s the Sunkist Shootout that&8217;s being held at St. Thomas More Catholic High School.

And in most years, Natchez High has been the only team from Mississippi to play in this prestigious tournament.

This year, however, the Bulldogs got off to a tough start as they made less than 27 percent of their shots while the St. Paul&8217;s Wolves from Covington, La., were nearly 53 percent from the field in a 68-37 win in the first round Tuesday afternoon.

&8220;I think most of our kids were ready to go after the first quarter,&8221; Bulldogs head coach Mike Martin said. &8220;This is the second time in my 29 years of coaching that we&8217;ve been embarrassed.

&8220;In 1994, we played in a tournament in Springfield, Missouri before 10,000 people. The trophy was bigger than Jimmy Walton. We had Jimmy and Timothy Hooker. We got embarrassed. They were schooled. But I didn&8217;t have to tell them anything. They knew what they had to do to become a good team.&8221;

That team went on to win the Class 5A state championship.

This game was over early as the Wolves jumped out to a commanding 27-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 37-12 over a young Bulldogs team and never looked back.

St. Paul&8217;s (14-2), an LHSAA Class 5A team, made 27 of 51 shots from the field and was a solid 9-of-13 from the free-throw line. The Wolves out-rebounded the Bulldogs 39-27 and got 27 points from their bench.

&8220;We got out of the game what we invested &8212; halfway effort and halfway results,&8221; Martin said. &8220;I didn&8217;t care for some of the effort on the court.&8221;

Sean Bennett, who led the Wolves with 17 points, was 6-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-5 from three-point range, and made three of four free throws.

Alex Williams had 12 points for St. Paul&8217;s on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and he made all four of this free throws. He also had a game-high eight rebounds.

Natchez High (5-5) made just 14 of 52 shots (26.92 percent) from the field and made just one of 12 three-pointers.

Natchez High&8217;s best shooter from the field was Michael St. Paul&8217;s defense not only forced Natchez to a low shooting percentage, but also forced 19 turnovers and had 14 steals. Thirty of the Wolves&8217; 39 rebounds were on the defensive end, making sure the Bulldogs didn&8217;t get many second-shot opportunities.

&8220;We had four assists in the entire game,&8221; Martin said. &8220;When you have four assists, you&8217;re not playing team basketball. We shall see how we do tomorrow.&8221;

Natchez High takes on Vandebilt Catholic today at 2:30 p.m.

Huntington 70, Mt. Salus 36

ROLLING FORK &8212; Huntington head coach David Boydstun knew that one of the keys of this game was how to defend 6-5 Eagles post player Chris Govero.

Mission accomplished as the Hounds double-teamed Govero and forced him to take several shots farther away from the basket than he normally does in holding him to just nine points in the win.

&8220;We just surrounded him and didn&8217;t let him get any good looks at the basket,&8221; Boydstun said. &8220;We made sure he shot farther outside than he wanted to. We got out to a big lead. The press (defense) hurt them.&8221;

Huntington took control of the game in the first quarter because of its defensive intensity and pressure. The Hounds led 27-3 after the first and 47-15 at halftime.

Ricky Dunbar led the Hounds with 14 points. Huntington will take on Porter&8217;s Chapel at 7:15 p.m. today.

Wesson 57, Cathedral 37

WESSON &8212; Playing its first game without senior center Matthew Hall, the Green Wave hung tough but the Cobras pulled away at the end.

Cathedral (6-7) got off to a tough start and trailed Wesson (6-8) 17-9 after one quarter of play. But the Green Wave outscored the Cobras 13-9 in the second quarter to trail by just four points at halftime.

Wesson was ready to pull away after outscoring Cathedral 14-7 in the third quarter to take a 40-29 lead. But the Green Wave went on a 6-2 run and trailed by just seven, 42-35, with just five minutes left in the game.

Cathedral will face Enterprise at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Parklane 79, Adams Christian 40

BROOKHAVEN &8212; What a day to have only seven players suited up. It could have been against anyone else, but Parklane&8217;s Pioneers weren&8217;t in a generous mood and put the game away early.

Parklane led 25-9 after one and 38-20 at halftime. The Pioneers went inside early and often to post player Tyler Cunningham, and the Rebels tried their best with a 2-3 zone for three quarters.

Cunningham finished with 23 points.

&8220;We&8217;re just down this year, but we&8217;re trying to have fun and get better,&8221; Adams head coach Kyle Smith said. &8220;Parklane has too many weapons. They just got the ball into him.&8221;