By CHRISSY SMITH
Slidell Sports Editor
SLIDELL — It was an easy victory for the Salmen Spartans in the District 8-4A opener against Lakeshore where the Spartans won, 73-43.
Although it was a close first quarter, Salmen’s offense exploded in the second period and never looked back.
The Spartans opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run, which was started by the defense putting pressure on Lakeshore’s ball handlers.
Prior to this game, Salmen (15-6) had lost four of its previous six games against stiff competition outside the district. While Coach Jay Carlin saw improvement, he still is looking for his team to use its size and work the ball more inside. The Spartans shot 68 percent (17-for-25) from inside the 3-point line and 27 percent (nine-for-33) from outside the arc.
“I thought our inside game was still problematic for some of the game,” Carlin said. “We told them at the half that we can’t live and die by the three-pointer, and that is a habit we have got to chance.”
Several of Salmen’s upcoming games will challenge the Spartans because othe other teams will have a size advantage, and Carlin said he wants to see his team be strong inside and work hard in the lane.
“We know we can shoot the ball, but if you live and die by the 3 and it’s not going in, we’re going to have a tough time winning. We’re trying to get some balance in and out, but I told the kids we just need to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played,” Carlin said.
One of Salmen’s top scorers this year, Chris Vickers, was the leading scorer against Lakeshore with 19 points. Corey Vinson ended the game with 17 points, including four three-pointers.
Also for Salmen, Cody Rudolph ended the contest with 16 points.
Lakeshore is now 13-7 overall and 0-1 in district. The Titans committed 16 turnovers as well.
“We have to keep the turnovers to a minimum when we are playing a team like Salmen,” Lakeshore Coach T.K. Kendall said. “In the third quarter, we were right there with open shots, but we missed the opportunites we had.”
The Titans shot 26.7 percent in the second half and was just under 30 percent for the game. The Titans leading scorer, LaQuincy Lewis, who averages about 20 points per game, was held to 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.