Pirates drop district opener, fall at Van

By Jeremy Weber
jweber@campcountynow.com

Poor foul shooting was again a problem for the Pirates Friday evening as they opened district play with a loss on the road at North Lamar.
Pittsburg managed just 9-18 from the charity stripe on the evening as the Panthers came away with a 55-35 victory.
North Lamar started the game off well, building a 16-7 lead after one quarter of play before the Pirates won the second-quarter battle 12-9 to cut the Panther lead to 25-19 at the half.
The third quarter belonged to the Panthers, though, as North Lamar outscored the Pirates 19-6 in the frame to build a 44-25 lead heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The fourth quarter was closer, but the Panthers again outscored the Pirates, this time 11-10, as North Lamar earned a 20-point victory.
Markevious Traylor and Ty Smith each scored eight to lead the Pirates in the loss while Sir Charles Perkins and D.J. Porter each added seven points. Levi Leonard scored four for the Pirates, Jakevion Traylor had two points and Robert Hollins added one point.
The Pirates were missing a few key players when they made the trip to Van Jan. 3. The Vandals jumped ahead early and never looked back as they downed the Pirates 63-34.
“We were missing two startes and our sixth man in this one,” head coach J.B. Littlejohn said. “Plus, we had several players who missed practice time during the week and boy did it show. These kids have to learn to be committed.”
Perkins was the high scorer for the Pirates in the loss with 14 points while Smith had seven, Jakevion Traylor scored six, Hill had five and Porter and D.J. Hughes each added one point.
The Pirates hit four threes in the loss, but were just 4-8 from the foul line.