LEESVILLE – After falling behind by 18 points at the break, the Leesville Wampus Cats could have just faded away.

But they didn't.

The Wampus Cats outscored the Red River Bulldogs, 40-29, in the second half, falling just short in their comeback effort on Thursday night at the Mickey Goins Memorial Tournament at Leesville High School, 62-55.

Red River and Leesville found points hard to come by in the first period from outside as both teams struggled shooting the ball. But once they moved to an up-tempo style, the Bulldogs managed to take a 14-10 lead after eight minutes.

Defensive pressure and a few layups gave Red River momentum in the second period, using a 19-5 run to build a 33-15 cushion at the half.

But Leesville refused to go away.

The Wampus Cats used a 20-15 edge in the third to chip away at the Red River lead, trailing by a score of 48-35 entering the fourth.

Leesville continued its comeback in the fourth, but simply ran out of time as the Bulldogs got the win.

B.J. Harris scored 19 points to lead Red River, while D'Evan McDonald added 18 points in the win. Trey Smith chipped in with 10 points.

Davean Scott was the lone Leesville player in double figures, scoring 15 points.

GIRLS' GAME

Stanley Lady Panthers…61

Oak Hill Lady Rams…50

MaKayla Williams and Maggie Walker combined for 58 points, leading the Stanley Lady Panthers to a 61-50 victory over the Oak Hill Lady Rams on Thursday at Leesville High School in the Mickey Goins Memorial Tournament.

Walker dominated the first half of play by scoring 15 of her 19 points in the opening salvo. Williams added 18 points in the opening two quarters as the Lady Panthers owned a 36-22 lead at the break.

Williams continued her torrid scoring pace as she scored all but four of Stanley's points in the second half, leading the Lady Panthers to victory.

Williams finished the contest with 39 points for Stanley.

Oak Hill got 11 points each from Emma Tucker and Alexis Dyer.

This article originally appeared on Leesville Daily Leader: Wampus Cat rally falls short of Red River