Basketball Recap: Sterlington Takes a Loss

Sterlington lost against Union Parish back in February and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. The Sterlington Panthers received a blow as they fell 74-60 to the Union Parish Farmers. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Panthers came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Louisiana basketball rankings (they are ranked 74th, while the Farmers are ranked 316th).

Despite the loss, Sterlington still got an impressive performance from Cooper Nelson, who went 8 of 13 en route to 28 points along with five boards and four steals. Nelson's afternoon made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Chris Pearson, who posted 12 points and three steals.

Sterlington has traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four games, which put a noticeable dent in their 7-5 record this season. That patch can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 61.3 points per game. As for Union Parish, the win was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 4-7.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Sterlington and Holy Savior Menard will compete for holiday cheer at 3:00 p.m. on Monday. Sterlington is facing Holy Savior Menard at the right time seeing as Holy Savior Menard is stuck on a five-game losing streak. Union Parish will take on Ringgold in a holiday battle at at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. Union Parish knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 55 points or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully Ringgold likes a good challenge.