By: LANCE REED

Sports Editor



Mamou High School made a clean sweep of the Port Barre High School basketball teams Tuesday night. The boys and the girls of Mamou High School picked up crucial victories in their quest to make the state playoffs and perhaps capture their respective District 6-2A championship.



The Lady Demons picked up a much-needed victory over the Port Barre Lady Red Devils. After falling to Sacred Heart last Friday night, Mamou needed to win in order to keep pace with the other leaders in District 6-2A. Port Barre came into the game with a 3-2 record, while Mamou was tied with Sacred Heart at 2-3 in district. The Lady Demons came to play and sent the Lady Red Devils home with a 54-43 defeat.

Mamou got a big performance from Mia Melvin. The young lady played her heart out on the court and drained 23 points in the game. In the first period, she was on fire. She pulled down rebounds left and right and managed to sink eight points as well. She guided her team to a 10-9 first period lead.

In the second period, the Lady Demons capitalized on missed shots and turnovers to go up 19-14. The low-scoring second period was a product of both teams trying to slow the game down and keep the momentum. Rosalyn Jack helped her team with a three-point shot at the end of the period. The Mamou girls carefully controlled the ball under the basket and managed to keep the lead. Melvin had another great period, draining six points. As with the first period, she topped the team in rebounds in the second stanza.

The third period featured more offense and less defense, as both teams seemed to make some very good halftime adjustments. Jack helped by hitting another three-point basket. Mamou and Port Barre traded bucket for bucket, as the Lady Red Devils out scored the Lady Demons for the first time in the ball game. Despite the surge, it was not enough for the Port Barre girls to take the lead. Mamou clung to a four-point lead at the end of the frame.

Mamou needed to improve their 34-30 lead desperately. Melvin got busy again with a six-point surge. Shakilya Gauthier provided her own effort by scoring eight points in the stanza. She would finish the night with 12 points, second on the team. Gauthier and Melvin’s tactics jolted the Lady Demons out to a big lead and helped Mamou coast to victory. The defensive scheme of Mamou helped to keep the Lady Red Devils to only 13 points in the frame.

Mamou’s victory puts them in a tie with Port Barre at 3-3 in district. Ville Platte came into the night with a second-place mark with only one district loss and Westminster was in first with an undefeated district mark.

The boys’ game started close, but would not end up that way. A big third period would prove to be the difference in this contest. The Demons improved to 5-0 in district competition with a 73-54 victory over the visiting Red Devils. The victory sets up a huge match-up next Tuesday when the Demons host the Ville Platte Bulldogs.

The opening period showed bucket trading for the first five minutes. Neither team could grab the momentum but there were a lot of free throws being shot by both teams. Zack Baty hit a pair of three-point bombs for the Demons and a pair of free throws.

The second frame was an interesting one. Several charging calls stopped the Demons from grabbing the momentum. Roderick Ben played remarkable defense for Mamou under the bucket. After a series of bucket exchanges, a lay-up by McGyver Jack seemed to unlock the game. Swift passing from Josh Semien to Alex Vidrine allowed Mamou to open up the lead. The Red Devils fired back and held a momentary lead after a turnover. The PBHS team did a great job of taking Baty out of the Mamou offense. They stuck a man in his back pocket and kept Baty quiet until the fourth period. Just before the half, Keyondrick Boykins hit a three-point shot which put Mamou up 29-27 going into the locker room.

The Demons began the third period with an attitude. They played great and certainly showed the Red Devils whose house it was. Mamou scored 20 unanswered points. The visiting team did not score a point for the four-and-a-half minutes of the frame. Zeph Semien got the period started for the Demons with a three-point bomb. He hit another one later in the period to help his team.

The Demons’ defense was highlighted by steals from Zack Baty and Issac Thomas and rebounds from Glenn Stagg and Roderick Ben. Mamou held a commanding lead at the end of the eight-minute block, 51-33.

The Green Demons continued to force turnovers in the final frame. Port Barre returned the favor by forcing turnovers as well. The Red Devils hit a few three-point shots and pulled to within 14 points of the lead.

At that point, Mamou slowed the game down in order to make sure they did not give Port Barre any chance to gain any momentum. With just under two minutes left in the game, back-to-back lay-ups from Stagg put the game away.

Baty finished the game with a team-high 16 points. Ten of those points came in the first frame, with the rest coming in the final period. Keith Thomas quietly put up 12 points.

Mamou travels to Church Point in a non-district tilt tomorrow night before hosting Ville Platte next Tuesday night.