CORKED—Springfield shooter Bryce Walker (10) has his shot blocked from behind by STA’s Raymone Andrews (left) during Friday’s District 9-2A showdown in Springfield. STA won 65-32. (Photo by John Lenz)

In medieval times, soldiers that lived by the sword would also die from it. The same principal held true Friday at the HHS gym where the Slidell Tigers lived by the three ball to knock off the Hammond Tornadoes 76-71 in overtime Friday night.

The two teams battled up and down the floor, and the game got dramatic in the fourth quarter, with the lead changing hands three times before Carderion Beale made a free throw for Hammond to tie it with 2:22 left and eventually force overtime.

But in the extra session, Slidell (12-14, 2-4) scored nine straight points to erase a two-point lead, and the Tors (15-7, 5-1) never recovered as the Tigers took a bite out of their District 7-5A lead.

“They appeared to be giving us the game in the second quarter, but we missed some free throws and some chip shots around the basket as well some threes that were pretty open,” said Hammond coach Kilarvorus Thompson.

“The opportunity was there for us to take advantage and we didn't," he said. "But overall I think it was a good game for us. We don't like to take a loss, but hopefully it'll be a learning experience for the guys.”

Hammond's loss allowed Ponchatoula, Mandeville and St. Paul's to all creep within one game of the lead with victories on Friday. In Mandeville, Ponchatoula (16-11, 4-2) built a lead in the first half and held off Fontainebleau 48-43. Mandeville High (17-6, 4-2) knocked off Northshore on the road 60-55, and St. Paul's (16-7, 4-2) belted Covington (8-13, 3-3) 80-59.

Meanwhile, on the girls' side, both Ponchatoula and Hammond won their games Friday, but Mandeville also won to stay a game ahead of the Lady Tors and one behind the Lady Wave.

Ponchatoula (25-4, 8-0) crushed Fontainebleau 64-21, holding the Lady Bulldogs to nine points in the first three periods.

"Defensively, we really came out with lot of intensity from the beginning of the game," Wave caoch Justin Adams said. "We were very intense defensively and it was hard for them to get open looks, and we also did a good job rebounding and not giving up second-chance opportunities."

Hammond's Lady Tors (15-7, 6-2), meanwhile, were in a close one with Slidell's Lady Tigers in the first half, but pulled away in the second to secure a 68-51 district win.

"Early on, they were giving us some shots because they were trying to man up on Julia Jackson and Jasmin Manuel and let the rest of them shoot, and the shots weren't falling,” said Hammond coach Tommy Morrison.

“Then we put Sara Perrilloux in the game, who is a great set-shot shooter, and she started knocking them down. That made a big difference because then they had to play defense on all of us. We wanted to keep trying to run the ball and wear them down and I think that's what we did.”

The loss puts the Tors at 5-1 in district play and still in first place. The Lady Tors are now 5-2 in district play and in third place behind Ponchatoula and Mandeville. Both teams' next game will be at home on Tuesday against Ponchatoula.

BOYS GAMES

Slidell 76, Hammond 71 (OT)

Hammond had a chance to win it with six seconds left in regulation, but the Tors were called for a charge and the game went on to overtime.

In overtime, Ellis Marshall scored first to give the Tors a 67-65 lead, but after that Slidell scored nine straight points to make it 74-67. Hammond didn't score until there was 1:34 left on the clock to make it 74-69. Logan Jordan's basket with 30 second left made it a 7-point game and virtually sealed it for Slidell.

Slidell, which made 12 3-pointers to Hammond's four, led early on before Marshall rallied the Tors with nine of Hammond's 15 points in the first period. The Tors trailed 18-15 after one period and tied it at 32 with 4:30 left in the quarter, but Slidell hit four threes in the second that gave them a 41-37 lead at halftime.

Hammond took a 45-44 lead with 6:00 left in the third and would hold it for most of the quarter, but Slidell closed the quarter with ten straight points, capped off by a three as timed expired to put them up 58-55.

“(Slidell) made some big shots throughout the game,” Thompson said. “Our guys didn't contest some of the shots they made. If you don't do that against a team like that, once they get their confidence going, its tough to beat them.

Marshall led all scorers with 24 points, Beale scored 12 and Dominick McCoy added 11 for the Tors. Logan Jordan scored 17 for the Tigers.

Ponchatoula 48, Fontainebleau 43

MANDEVILLE-In a defensive-oriented first half, Ponchatoula (16-11, 4-2) played it best, leading by just 6-5 after one period but pulling out to an 18-15 halftime lead. It was still a three-point game going into the final period before the Wave pulled off the key district road win in the final period,

Byron Hart led the Green Wave with 14 points and Matt Derenbecker netted 13. Taylor Hanby scored a game-high 19 points for Fontainebleau (3-20, 0-6) and Jason Green added 16.

GIRLS GAMES

Ponchatoula 64, Fontainebleau 21

MANDEVILLE-Ponchatoula did not allow Fontainebleau (7-18, 1-7) to scored its first field goal until 43 seconds before halftime. The Lady Wave, meanwhile, raced out to leads of 14-1 after one period and 32-4 at halftime and cruised in the second half.

The big girls led the way as Antoinette Pea netted 16 points and Megan Berner 14 for Ponchatoula, with Chelsee Lamarca next with seven points. Kelly Billadoux and Jen Bethler posted eight points apiece to pace the Lady Bulldogs.

Hammond 68, Slidell 51

Hammond started out cold on offense and the game was close early, with four lead changes in the first quarter before Slidell led 14-12 after one.

Sara Perrilloux led the Hammond charge in the second quarteras she scored nine points to help the Lady Tors to a 33-26 lead at halftime, including a 6-2 run to finish the quarter.

“We need to work on ball handling,” said Morrison. “We need to make sure when we get a wide-open shot we can make those shots and punish people.”

Jasmin Cyprian started off the third quarter with back-to-back threes to put Hammond up 39-26, and the Lady Tors held a 50-40 at the end of the third. But Hammond really turned it on the fourth quarter, scoring nine straight points in the middle of the quarter in outscoring the Lady Tigers 18-11 overt he final eight minutes.

Jackson led all scorers with 23 points, Christy Pinestraw added 15, Perrilloux 14, and Cyprian 10 for Hammond. Slidell's Bianca Navarre led the Lady Tigers with 15.