Normally, Porters Chapel Academy boys basketball coach Chad Lessard said, his team has either been very good or very bad all the way through a game this season.

On Saturday, much to his and the Eagles’ dismay, they got a little of both in the same 32-minue span.
Porters Chapel let a big early lead slip away, and then watched Tallulah Academy gain even more distance in the second half as the Trojans cruised to a 70-52 victory in the Red Carpet Classic at Vicksburg High School.

Five players scored in double figures for Tallulah, which outscored PCA 53-24 after trailing by 11 points midway through the second quarter.

“We have never been in that scenario this year. We’ve played very well the whole game, or very bad the whole game,” Lessard said. “When you get in foul trouble and can’t rebound or play hard defense, it’s tough.”

PCA (5-18) got off to a great start. Jake Arias hit three 3-pointers in the first half as the Eagles got out to a 28-17 lead with 3:24 to go in the second quarter. Tallulah finished the half on a 10-2 run to get back in it, however, and then outscored PCA 31-12 in the third quarter to turn it into a blowout the other way.

The Trojans got their first lead since the early going when Luke Fortenberry grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast for a layup. He missed a free throw after being fouled on the play, but David Dixon got the rebound and put it back up to give Tallulah a 39-35 lead with 5:33 to go in the third quarter.

The Trojans never trailed after that sequence. PCA kept up for a few minutes, but Tallulah finished the third quarter with an 11-0 run to make it 59-42. Its lead grew to as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.

“I think going to the last two minutes of the second period we got complacent with ourselves,” Lessard said. “We were playing well, and then we got in foul trouble and from there on our players lost it. The momentum really changed at the end of the second quarter. That was the turning point of the game.”

Dixon finished with 17 points to lead Tallulah. Logan Tullos scored 16, Brice Wood had 14, and Luke Fortenberry and Hager Fortenberry had 12 apiece.

Glen Allen Kittrell led PCA with 19 points, and Arias finished with 11. All of Arias’ points came in the first half.

(G) Tallulah Academy 55, Porters Chapel 23

Molly Givens scored a game-high 21 points to lead Tallulah Academy’s girls’ team past Porters Chapel in the opening game of the Red Carpet Classic.

Hayley Fortenberry added 12 points — on four 3-pointers — and Alana Florice scored nine for the Lady Trojans.

Hannah Embry led PCA with five points. Cameron Yocum, Faith McDaniel and Kaylee Hinson scored four each.

RED CARPET CLASSIC SCORES
Girls
Tallulah Academy 55, Porters Chapel 23
Warren Central 54, Forest Hill 18
Germantown 54, Vicksburg 42
Boys
Tallulah Academy 70, Porters Chapel 52
Jim Hill 64, Warren Central 44
Vicksburg 56, Germantown 36