Saint Jo vs Prairie Valley boys
The Saint Jo Panthers won at Prairie Valley on Thursday in a game that had been postponed.
The Panthers won 65-45 against the Bulldogs, using a good first quarter to get out into the lead.
Saint Jo was dared to shoot from outside in the half court and Kile Thurman stepped up to make three in the first quarter. The Panthers led 16-7 after the first quarter.
The Bulldogs bounced back and was hanging around trailing only 26-19 midway through the second quarter, making three 3-pointers and getting to the free throw line.
Unfortunately for Prairie Valley, Saint Jo finished the quarter on a 10-1 run to go up 36-20 at halftime.
The Panthers defense then shut down the Bulldogs in the third quarter, holding them to only three points. This sealed Prairie Valley’s fate, despite the Bulldogs more than doubling their three quarter total in the fourth quarter.
Thurman led Saint Jo with 26 points and five 3-pointers. Tyler Cook joined him in double figures with 12 points while grabbing nine rebounds.
Coach Lydon Cook did not think his team defended well in the first half, but made up for it with the third quarter.
“All wins count the same at this time of year so as long as we can just keep this thing rolling along I don’t have any complaints, just minor stuff that we’ll work on for the last two weeks of the season gearing up for the playoffs,” Cook said.
For Prairie Valley Tyler Winkler led the team with 18 points and four rebounds. Isaac Yeargin scored 17 points while Konner Ritchie led the team with five assists.
Coach Seth Stephens thought his team played well and stuck to the game plan, despite Saint Jo making them pay with its outside shooting in the first half.
“Other than that third quarter I was pretty happy with our offense, and defensively we weren’t perfect but we played hard,” Stephens said. “Again, credit to Saint Jo for making some great plays offensively.”
The Bulldogs week was not done though. On Friday, Prairie Valley traveled to Slidell to take on the top rated team in the state.
It did not go well for the Bulldogs. The Greyhounds won 87-32, with the only bright side being that Slidell scored less than the first game when it scored 94.
Winkler and Richie both led the team with nine points apiece, with Winkler dishing three assists and Ritchie grabbing five rebounds.
Prairie Valley are next scheduled to play at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 at Gold-Burg. Saint Jo is next scheduled to play Forestburg at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 at home.

Bellevue vs Gold-Burg girls
The Gold-Burg Lady Bears lost at home to Bellevue on Friday.
The Lady Eagles won 75-48 thanks to a great first half.
Bellevue scored 27 points in the first quarter and 19 in the second, which was just too much for the Lady Bears to keep pace with. The Lady Eagles led 46-25 at halftime.
Gold-Burg played better in the second half, forcing turnovers and playing hard. It proved to be enough to not let Bellevue’s lead grow too much as the Lady Eagles won.
Sky-Lar Embry led Bellevue with 40 points while Austin Ford added 20 points.
Coach John McGee was not pleased with how his team played overall despite the win.
“I keep waiting for us to get off of this rollercoaster and have games that are solid on both sides of the ball,” McGee said. “However, I’m still proud of my girls and their effort and continued hard work.”
Kelly Contreras led the Lady Bears with 23 points while Taylor Lyons was second with 11 points.
Coach Cheryl Cromleigh was proud of how her girls played hard against the tough Lady Eagles, playing much better as the game went along.
Bellevue has no more district games scheduled. The Lady Eagles are a playoff team, with the bi-district window being Feb. 11-13. Look for playoff information on the Bowie News social media pages when it becomes available.
Gold-Burg is scheduled to play its final game at 6 p.m. on Feb. 5 at home against Prairie Valley.

Forestburg boys
The Forestburg Longhorns lost at Midway on Friday.
The Falcons won 64-27 against the young Longhorn team.
Hayden Berry led the team with 10 points while Braxton Osteen was second with eight points.
Forestburg is next scheduled to play at Saint Jo at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5.