By By Austin Bishop/Special to The Star
Feb. 14, 2001
RAYMOND Lamar School's hopes of pulling an upset in the first round of the MPSA AAA State Tournament all but ended in one four minute span.
Prairie View (La.) Academy went on a 16-1 run early in the third quarter to turn a two-point lead into a 17-point cushion on the way to a 79-62 win.
The Spartans of Prairie View led by as many as seven, 30-23, in the first half, only to have Dusty Jones hit a high-arching 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer to cut it to 30-26.
Then, with 7:15 left in the third quarter, Ryan Satcher scored off an offensive rebound to cut it to two points.
The Raiders, who finished the year at 10-22, were within 54-41 at the end of three quarters of play.
PVA had six players in double figures and was capable of scoring inside on the blocks thanks to a pair of big guys down low, from long range or off the fast break.
Yates said his team's chances were hampered due to a couple of injuries.
The game was tied at 14-14 at the end of the first quarter. Prairie View stretched that to 18-14 before Jones nailed a three-pointer with 4:19 left in the half to cut it to 18-17. Jones knocked down seven three pointers on the night and scored a game-high 27 points to go with 11 rebounds.
That was the closest Lamar would get the rest of the night, as the Raiders never led in the contest.
Jared McKee struggled in the first half, but had a strong second half to finish with 23 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Jeremy Harris used his quickness to score a team-high 20 points for the Spartans, while Chase Fox hit four three-pointers on the way to a 14-point effort.
The big man combo of Buster Guice and John Nelson hit for 12 and 10 points respectively, while Joel Edwards scored 13 and Cody Channell tossed in 10.
With the win, Prairie View advances to the semifinals on Friday to take on the winner of tonight's matchup between Manchester and Indianola.