Marksville loses district opener to Jena, 58-49

Some of the parish’s high school basketball teams seem to be in contention for district championships and some are struggling and one struggling team is actually in contention for their district championship.

Cage action will continue to be hot and heavy over the next few weeks of the regular season and then into the playoffs. The state titles will be decided in early March.

Following is an update for the parish’s five boys basketball teams.

MARKSVILLE HIGH

The Marksville Tigers lost their District 3-AAA opener to Jena on Jan. 14, 58-49, at home. The Tigers were 16-7 at that point.

Results of the Jan. 17 home game against Caldwell and the Jan. 21 game against Avoyelles High in Moreauville were not available.

Jena was 14-5 with a power rating of 36.91 to earn a No. 9 ranking in Class AAA.

AVOYELLES HIGH

In District 4-AA, Avoyelles High won two of its three early January games to improve its overall record to 11-6.

The Mustangs lost to Jena on Jan. 7, 70-51. The Moreauville team rebounded to defeat the Block Bears, 83-65, on Jan. 10 and Mamou, 59-38, on Jan. 14.

Results of the Mustangs’ games against Winnfield on Jan. 17 and Marksville on Jan. 21 were not available for this article.

Avoyelles holds its district opener at Menard on Jan. 28.

BUNKIE HIGH

Bunkie won two out of three recent games, defeating Sacred Heart High, 64-31, on Jan. 7 and Westminster Christian, 57-28, on Jan. 14.

The streak was marred by the 56-48 loss to Marksville on Jan. 10.

The results of the Panthers’ games against Elizabeth on Jan. 17 and Teurlings Catholic on Jan. 20 were not available for this report.

Bunkie will play in Jena Thursday (Jan. 23) and has a District 4-AA game against Avoyelles Public Charter on Tuesday (Jan. 28).

As of Jan. 14, the Panthers had a 9-5 won-lost record.

AVOYELLES CHARTER

The Avoyelles Charter Vikings had a two-game winning streak snapped when it ran into a Buckeye buzzsaw on Jan. 13, losing to the Panthers, 40-29.

In the week before that event, the Vikes burned Atlanta, 49-43, and cut down Pine Prairie, 58-48.

APCS was 4-8 overall as of the Jan. 13 loss.

Results of the Jan. 16 game against Glenmora and Jan. 21 contest with Tioga were not available. The Vikings will travel to Brusly High Friday (Jan. 24) and host Bunkie Tuesday (Jan. 28)

ST. JOSEPH HIGH

St. Joseph has struggled to a 2-11 season through Jan. 7. but still has a good chance at winning the small District 5C’s championship.

The other two teams in the district are Reeves (2-20) and Plainview (3-12).

The three schools have not yet played each other in the season.

Although the Eagles play in Class C, in the playoffs they will be in Division V.

Based on power ratings, St. Joseph is the District 5C leader at 29.39 to Reeves’ 25.18 and Plainview’s 24.95.

POWER RATINGS

Looking at the five basketball schools’ state “power rating” numbers, Avoyelles High leads with a 36.61. The Mustangs’ No. 9 rating in Class AA also makes it the parish’s highest ranked team.

Marksville, in a bigger classification, has a 35.33 rating and is ranked No. 15 in Class AAA.

Bunkie is No. 14 in Class AA with a 32.19 power rating.

The St. Joe Eagles’ power rating in Class C, and its No. 10 ranking for the small Division V non-public schools, puts it ahead of Avoyelles Charter in the parish listing.

Charter is ranked No. 36 among AA schools with a 25.32 power rating.

While the power ratings are interesting to compare and do provide some indication of a team’s relative strength, the old saying is true that the only numbers that count are the ones on the scoreboard at the end of the game.