The Benton Tigers rallied in the fourth quarter for a 61-57 victory over the Ouachita Parish Lions in boys high school basketball action Monday night at Benton.
Elsewhere, the Airline boys and girls swept Lakeview at Airline. The Vikings won 69-60, and the Lady Vikings won 50-33.
Both Lakeview teams lost for the first time this season.
In another boys game, Bossier suffered a tough 56-55 loss to Walker in the Walker tournament.
At Benton, Greg Manning and Ryan Ward led the Tigers (12-3) with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Brodie Romero added 10 and Dylan Slaid seven.
Benton led 29-25 at the half. Ouachita Parish rallied in the third, outscoring the Tigers 18-7 for a 43-36 lead.
Benton turned the tables in the fourth, outscoring the Lions 25-14.
The Tigers made 15-of-20 free throws in the fourth and 23-of-32 in the game.
Romero and Manning hit big 3-pointers in the quarter. Ward, who had a pair of 3s in the first half, scored seven.
James Ross led Ouachita Parish (5-7) with 18 points, including three 3s.
At Airline, Devin Bilbo scored 26 points to lead the Vikings (2-4).
Colby O’glee added 11 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter. Bryson Broom had 10 and Devarrick Woods eight.
The Vikings led 32-27 at the half but the Gators cut the lead to two after three quarters.
Bilbo scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Airline pull away. He was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the quarter and 10-of-10 in the game.
Alonzo Driver led Lakeview (9-1) with 19 points, including five 3s. Javonte Howard scored 18.
Kori Rice and Toria Brocks paced the Lady Vikings (6-9) with 12 points each. Faith Rush added nine and Reagan Amos eight.
Lakeview dropped to 6-1.
At Walker, Joseph Manning hit four 3-pointers and led the Bearkats (7-3) with 28 points. Lakavin Thomas added nine.
The Bearkats trailed 22-11 after the first quarter. The second quarter was a different story. Bossier went on a 25-2 run and led 36-24 at the half.
Manning had 17 points in the first two quarters.
The Wildcats came out strong in the third, outscoring the Bearkats 18-7 and cutting the lead to one.
Walker (2-2), a Class 5A semifinalist last season, scored the winning basket with 13.3 seconds left.
The loss was Bossier’s second by a point. The Bearkats’ other loss was by four points.
