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SICILY ISLAND, La. — Derrick Carson led the Ferriday High School Trojans with a game-high 21 points, but Pamerion Swanson was held well below his season average in a 46-35 loss to the Franklin Parish High School Patriots last Tuesday night at the Sicily Island High Basketball Tournament.

This was the second time that Ferriday and Franklin Parish played each other. The first was back on Nov. 19 on Ferriday’s home court, with the Patriots escaping with a two-point win over the Trojans in overtime. There would be no need for that this time around as the Patriots used a big third quarter to grab the momentum.

“We played them earlier in the season. We both were kind of familiar,” Ferriday head coach Shawn Davis said. “We knew their top players. They knew our top players. That’s why it was kind of a stalemate in the first half.”

A low-scoring first quarter ended with the Trojans taking a 5-4 lead. Ferriday took a 14-13 lead into halftime after both teams scored nine points in the second quarter.

“We played a lot of defense that kept them off guard,” Davis said. “We only played six players last night. We still have some players in (COVID-19) quarantine. We only practice with seven or eight players.”

The Trojans scored the first six points in the third quarter to grab a 20-13 lead and it appeared that they had the momentum on their side. But three straight turnovers and a couple of 3-pointers by Cooper (no first name given) allowed Franklin Parish to get back in the game. The Patriots would end up outscoring the Trojans 18-9 in the that quarter for a 31-23 advantage.

The Patriots’ defense also made sure that Swanson, who Davis said averages about 20 points a game, would not be a factor in the outcome of this game. He had only one point at halftime and finished with eight points.

“We got kind of frustrated,” Davis said. “They rotated eight or nine players. We’ve got to get some players back. We need some depth bad.”

White led the Patriots (7-10) with 12 points and Cooper scored 11 points.

Ferriday (5-6) returned to action at the Sicily Island High Basketball Tournament on Thursday night against French Settlement High School.