Eagles pull away late from Panthers, win 71-60

The Vermilion Catholic Eagles seeked and claimed revenge from the Jan. 29 loss with a 71-60 win on the road against the Delcambre Panthers Thursday night.
VC (9-11, 3-7) moved the ball effectively and hit outside shots in their highest-scoring output of the season.
"I was proud of the effort and I was proud of the unselfish play moving the basketball," said VC coach Roch Charpentier. "We were dishing it to the guys open under the goal. We are just stressing finishing the season strong. We got the effort we wanted tonight. We didn't play great but we got the effort we wanted."
The Eagles led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter. They opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to boost their lead to 18-7.
Delcambre (6-17, 4-6) cut the deficit to seven points at 30-23 at halftime, but the Eagles opened the second half with a 12-2 run capped off by back-to-back jumpers by Ethan Menard to balloon the lead to 42-25.
The Panthers did not throw in the towel, and clawed back to within five points at 55-50 with a little over three minutes left in the game.
However, VC went on a 10-1 run to extend their lead back to 65-51 with 1:32 left to cruise to the 11-point win.
Menard was the top scorer for the Eagles, pouring in 17 points. Chris Campbell and Devren Constantine were also in double figures with 16 and 15 respectively.
Other VC scorers were: Peyton Theriot (2), Donnie Comeaux (2), Gage Broussard (2), Isaiah Pillette (6), Tre'vian Lane (6) and William Noegel (4).
Chris Borel was the game-high scorer with 18 points, and Dezzi Viator was also in double figures for the Panthers with 11.
Delcambre scorers were: Brayton Trahan (4), Seth Esponge (7), Zach Trahan (5), Cole Delcambre (8), Reese LeBlanc (4) with Lane Broussard and Brayton Broussard each adding 2 points.
The Eagles were ranked No. 29 in the most recent power ratings, but Charpentier said his team is focused on finishing the season strong.
"I expect to stay in about the same position," he said. "We split 1-1. We are focused on next week; We have to go out and get two W's."
Vermilion Catholic will be in action tomorrow at home against Hanson, and Delcambre's next game is Tuesday on the road against David Thibodaux.