By DAVID FOLSE II
Slidell sports writer
MANDEVILLE—Lakeshore wasn’t happy after their first match-up against the Slidell Tigers.
Last Friday night, they did something about it.
A come-from-behind victory, the Titans beat Slidell at home 49-40.
Lakeshore (12-6) was led by Ashon Cook, who had a game-high 16 points. Dillon Smith had 12 points and Grant Stiebing had 10.
Slidell (7-6) was led by John Paul-Fugate’s 12 points, all from the 3-point line and 11 points from senior Reuben Cousin.
Trailing 19-16 coming out of the halftime locker room, Lakeshore scored the first four points of the third quarter and a three-point play by Cook gave the Titans a 20-19 lead.
Lakeshore would go on a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter paced by a defensive effort that held Slidell without a point for nearly five minutes to take a 30-24 lead. Slidell would cut the lead to 36-33 on a Cousin bucket, but the Titans immediately responded with a lay-up by Cook and a key 3-pointer by Stiebing to push the lead back to 41-33.
The Lakeshore defense was equally as stifling in the final quarter, as Lakeshore held Slidell without a point for over five minutes of the quarter.
“In the second half we just made a concentrated effort to drive the ball to the basket,” Cook said. “Instead of shooting so many 3-pointers. We just went to the basket and looked for easy shots and at worse we knew we would end up at the free throw line. Add to that the fact that we picked up the defensive intensity. That helps you win games.”
Both teams struggled to score points in the first half, in particular the first quarter. Slidell and Lakeshore combined for only four field goals in a 6-6 first quarter.
Things didn’t get much better in the second quarter as both teams struggled to hit shots and make free throws. Slidell went 2-for-12 from the free throw line in the first half and 6-for-19 for the game.
Trailing Lakeshore 12-11 with 4:56 to go in the first half, an 8-1 run by Slidell, paced by a pair of 3-pointers by Cousin, gave them a 19-13 lead.
“Everybody is on Christmas break and as a player you almost miss that pattern you get in with school and then practice and/or a game,” Cook said. “It’s still kind of weird that we are just waking up and going to practice or a game. It is going to be good to get back into that pattern once school starts again next week.”