The Minden Crimson Tide opened District 1-4A play with a hard-fought 73-62 loss to Woodlawn Thursday night at Woodlawn.
The final score wasn’t indicative of how tight the game was.
Minden trailed 63-62 in the fourth quarter after Cameron Parker hit a 3-pointer.
The Knights hit two free throws to push the lead to three. The Tide missed two free throws but got control of the ball after the second one.
A technical foul was called on Minden after the inbounds pass and the Knights made both free throws to go up 67-62.
Woodlawn made two more free throws after a foul. The Knights subsequently finished the game on a 10-0 run.
A technical foul also hurt the Tide at the end of the first half. The Knights scored the final five points for a 39-34 lead.
Minden fought back in the third quarter and led briefly at 46-45.
Woodlawn regained the lead and led 53-49 after three quarters. The Tide again battled back and went up 57-56 on a pair of free throws by Gerald Richardson.
But the Knights quickly scored to take the lead for good.
Minden started the game on fire, scoring the first 14 points of the game. But Woodlawn chipped away and eventually tied it at 32.
Missed free throws, cold shooting from 3-point range and the inability to finish some fastbreak opportunities hurt Minden.
Parker led the Tide (9-7) with 22 points. Richardson added 12 and Markavius Johnson 10.
Jaden White led Woodlawn (12-7) with 26 points.