ANACOCO – After a closely-contested first half, the Florien Blackcats flexed their muscles. 

Behind a tremendous effort from Kaleb Carver, the Blackcats pulled away for a 67-43 victory over the Hicks Pirates on Tuesday night at Anacoco High School. 

Florien and Hicks battled back-and-forth in the first half, with neither team able to take a huge lead. 

The Blackcats owned a slim 16-14 lead after one period, but was able to stretch their advantage to six points at the intermission, 33-27. 

It was all Florien in the third as it used a 17-6 run to open up a 50-33 cushion going into the final eight minutes of play. 

Hicks managed to score 10 points in the fourth, but it wasn't enough as Florien won the contest. 

Carver poured in 29 points to lead the Blackcats, while teammate Bralyn Lee added 16 points. 

Connor Helton paced Hicks with 12 points, while Landon Goodwin chipped in with 10 points. 

This article originally appeared on Leesville Daily Leader: Big second half propels Florien past Hicks