The Minden Crimson Tide had a golden opportunity to cement themselves in the district 1-4A race by beating Fair Park at home Tuesday night.
Fair Park wasn’t willing to oblige however, and the Indians rolled past the Tide in a game that never felt as close as the final score read, 56-44.
Minden was playing their second consecutive game without head coach Alan Shaw.
In the first half, the Tide came out hot and seized an early lead. In the second quarter, Minden tried to use their depth to tire out Fair Park (the Indians only traveled with eight players) but instead the Indians took advantage of the less experienced lineup and went into halftime with a four-point lead.
A big Fair Park run pushed the lead as high as 14-points during a sloppy third quarter for the Tide, but Minden regained their composure thanks to a 3-pointer from Thomas Brown and put-back by Zi’Kerrion Baker.
Minden fought to further cut the lead and get back in it, but Fair Park slowed the pace and controlled the final four minutes of the game to hold on and show that they’re still front-runners in district 1-4A.
Lady Tiders
In the girls game, the Minden Lady Tiders had the Fair Park Lady Indians on the ropes in The Palace, but couldn’t close the deal in the final minutes of the game.
The Lady Tiders fell to the Lady Indians, 59-52.
The game started with an 8-1 run for Fair Park, but Minden responded the rest of the way in a barn-burner.
Heading to the fourth quarter, Minden trailed 41-38 thanks to a halfcourt shot at the buzzer by the Lady Indians. Another 3-pointer to start the fourth had the Lady Tiders down six points. Minden came back to tie the game at 44-44 and had every opportunity to take the game.
But they couldn’t.
“We missed some opportunities early and late,” Lady Tider head coach Jacob Brown said.
“There were several chances for us to get back in it, but we couldn’t hit a layup or get a stop. Our girls did a good job maintaining their composure and moved the ball well against their trap. Overall, I’m proud of our effort. I thought the girls were resilient and competed hard, but I’m not pleased with the result.”
Tiaga Pugh led Minden with 20 points, followed by Strawberry Batton with 14 and Sha’ Whiting with five.