By Laurence Hilliard
Choctaw Plaindealer
French Camp boys and girls basketball teams both entered the 5-1A tournament as sixth seeds in a six-team region. The Panthers played Durant and the Lady Panthers played Ethel in opening round games Tuesday at Coffeeville.
The FCA-Durant boys winner plays Coffeeville at 8:30 Thursday and the FCA-Ethel girls winner play McAdams at 7 p.m. Championship and consolation games will be Friday. The top four teams advance to the MHSAA playoffs.
The French Camp boys lost their last two games, 62-46 to McAdams and 64-30 to East Webster. The Panthers had a strong second half against McAdams, the top seed in the tournament, outscoring the Bulldogs 34-28 over the final two periods.
“We came out slow, but finished fast,” said coach Robert Weathers. Clayton Leathers led the Panthers with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. Cameron Smith scored 12 points and drilled three from behind the arc and Holman Edwards contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
Against East Webster, French Camp played well in the first quarter, trailing 18-15. “However, they got hot in the second quarter and we went cold,” the coach said. Kevin Bobo scored 11 points for the Panthers.
The Lady Panthers were beaten by McAdams 78-32 and East Webster 86-24. Jasmine Bonty, an eighth grader, had a team high eight points for French Camp against McAdams. Senior Zee Gladney had seven, Ke'Mara Atterberry led McAdams with 19 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists.
Against East Webster, Gladney scored 12 points and Bonty had eight.
