Donaldsonville falls short against Parkview

Donaldsonville was looking for a 3-1 start in the competitive District 6-3A, but they could never get going offensively against Parkview Baptist last Friday night. The visiting Eagles played solid defense and made key shots when they needed them in a 52-44 victory.

The Tigers trailed most of the game and made multiple runs to get within a bucket of Parkview, but the Eagles always came up with an answer to stay ahead.

"I thought the guys worked hard; we just couldn't put the ball in the basket," Donaldsonville head coach Lionel Gilbert said. "We only put up 44 points. We had opportunities. We have to make more layups and more free throws."

Parkview got off to a hot start as they stormed out to a 7-2 lead, but the Tigers came charging right back. Aaron Julien knocked down a 3-pointer to complete a 9-2 run and give Donaldsonville an 11-9 lead.

The Eagles responded to go ahead 12-11 at the end of one. They kept rolling in the second quarter, reeling off an 8-0 run to jump their advantage back to 6.

That's when a back-and-forth struggle ensued. Jacoby Simon drilled a baseline jumper to complete an 8-0 Donaldsonville spurt to regain a 1-point lead.

However, Parkview responded with a 6-1 flurry of their own. They came through with a layup in the closing seconds to head into the half with a 26-23 advantage.

Simon began the second half with a hard charge to the rim that ended with a layup to get the Tigers within 2. Unfortunately for Donaldsonville, they squandered countless opportunities to take the lead with missed free throws and layups.

Parkview was able to take a 6-point advantage into the fourth quarter after a put-back layup at the buzzer.

The Eagles soared off of that momentum. They began the final period with a 6-0 run to stretch their lead to 8.

Donaldsonville provided one final run. Jacoby Smith came up with a steal that ended with him making a transition layup. Braxton Bernard also forced a steal and finished it with an and-one opportunity to cut the Eagle lead to 2.

Parkview was unfazed. They responded with two straight and-one plays of their own to jump the advantage back to 7 points.

Overall, they reeled off 7 straight to build their biggest lead of the game at 9. With Donaldsonville unable to sink shots, the Eagles were able to ice away the 52-44 victory.

The Tiger offense struggled throughout with only one player reaching double-figures. Simon led all Donaldsonville players with 12. Bernard and Smith each had 9.

"They did a real good job of making timely shots, but the biggest difference in the game was free throws. They made theirs; we missed ours," Gilbert said. "Offensively, we have to do a better job of moving the basketball and attacking the rim and the defensive gaps."

The loss was the second within the new district for Donaldsonville. Both losses came to the league's heavyweights in Glen Oaks and Parkview. It dropped their district record to 2-2 and their overall record to 11-9.

The improvements the Tigers need to make heading into the rest of the league schedule are pretty obvious for Coach Gilbert.

"Offensively, we have to execute at a higher level, and we have to make free throws. That's the key to winning," Gilbert said.