Sports Writer

Beth Anderson’s 21 point performance helped the Pike Liberal Arts Lady Patriots to a 50-26 win over the Dixie Rebels, while the boys’ varsity basketball team fell 41-39 in the final minutes of Tuesday night’s game.

Jared Waldrop led the Patriots in scoring with 10 points and seven rebounds, followed by Brandon Hooks nine points. Druid Conrad led the team with 10 rebounds.

The Patriots held the lead for almost the entire game, but with 2:13 remaining in the fourth quarter Dixie gained a 36-35 lead and the momentum.

The Patriots managed to pull within two points after Michael DiChiara tied the game at 39-39 with under one minute remaining in the fourth quarter.

As Dixie inbounded the ball, Pike Liberal decided to foul the Rebels and sent point guard Kendall Currie to the free throw line with 22 seconds left to play. The Rebels took a 41-39 lead as Currie nailed both shots and time winded down.

The Patriots had one last shot to win the game, but came up short. Pike inbounded the ball on their own end of the court with less than a second remaining, and Conrad fired up a desperation three-point shot that didn’t fall.

Pike Liberal coach Paul Kirchharr said that the game shouldn’t have been decided by the last shot.

"We played sloppy. I think we beat ourselves," said Kirchharr. "We made poor decisions and bad passes. It shouldn’t have boiled down to the last shot. We’re just going to have to go to work and get better."

The Patriots, now 2-2 on the season, will play Faith Academy in Mobile Friday night.

The Lady Patriots dominated Dixie from start to finish and compiled a 24-8 halftime lead over the Rebels. At one point, with 6:13 remaining in the second quarter, Anderson scored 10 consecutive points.

The Lady Patriots had an 8-4 lead as Anderson hit two three-pointers and had a pair of steals to break open a close game. The PLAS defense was also dominate down low as Brantley Kreis and Whitney Johnson combined to block several shots.

Also scoring for the Patriots were: Lindy Lunkenheimer (11 points), Kreis (10 points), Danielle Johnson (four points), Karli Tribe (two points), and Malerie Sanders (two points).