Brookhaven Academy split its Saturday night trip to Franklinton, Louisiana, with Bowling Green, as the Lady Bucs topped the Lady Cougars 58-53 and the BA boys held off Bowling Green 36-24.

The schools were longtime basketball rivals and district mates, and for years Cougars fans would plan their trips to Franklinton around a stop at Gerald’s Seafood Buffet.

Gerald’s has a new name and owner, but Bowling Green is still a difficult place for opposing teams to pick up a victory.

Two weeks ago, the Lady Cougars (5-2) handled Bowling Green on their home court in their Thanksgiving tournament, but the Lady Bucs would use their defensive pressure to make the Lady Cougars work for baskets on Saturday night.

Jana Case led the Lady Cougars with 24 points and eight rebounds. Anne Brantley Warren scored eight points and handed out five assists. Makayla Martin and Emily Claire Felder added eight points apiece for the Lady Cougars.

Bowling Green made 17 free throws in the fourth quarter.

“I’m proud of how the girls fought,” said Lady Cougars head coach Jason Case. “We know we have to improve in certain areas to become who we want to be as a team and I’m sure we will get there soon.”

The boys’ game at the BA Thanksgiving Tournament saw the Cougars flying down the court as they blitzed the Bucs for an early 20-point lead on their way to a blowout win. Bowling Green slowed the pace down on Saturday in order to prevent that from happening again, but the Cougars still did enough to win.

“It wasn’t our best performance, but under the circumstances of playing on the road, we did what we had to do to win,” said BA head coach Josh Watts. “We did a good enough job of putting pressure on them in the half-court to get some turnovers and convert in transition.”

Dawson Flowers led the Cougar offensive attack with 17 points. Britton Nelson added nine points and Tyler Fortenberry scored seven points for BA.

The Cougars open district play tonight by hosting the Sylva-Bay Academy Saints in John R. Gray Gymnasium.

Story by Cliff Furr