Franklinton rebounded from a tough start and won the Archbishop Hannan Hustle Tournament on Wednesday night by defeating Bogalusa, 62-53, in Hannan’s gym.

“I attribute that (the slow start) to two things, playing the two games within four hours yesterday (Tuesday). I attribute it to Bogalusa had all of the motivation after we won in their gym last week (70-33),” Franklinton coach Randall Ginn said. “I knew they were going to come out ready to prove that that was an anomaly. We knew we weren’t normally 37 points better than them. It’s just the way it turned out that night.

“We overcame that. We didn’t gripe and yell and complain at halftime. We went in, we changed some strategy and we executed the game plan … and we prevailed in a rather ugly win for us, but any win is a good win.

“We lost Darrius (Dawson) to an injury to his cheek early on. That hurt us as far as point guard depth goes and Tray (Anders) is dealing with an injury, so we’re just glad to get out of the tournament 3-0 with a chance to get ready for two more weeks of pre-district.”

Bogalusa opened with a strong start. The Lumberjacks jumped out to an 8-2 lead. With the game tied, 2-2, Bogalusa scored six unanswered points to pull ahead.

Tramarcus Levi, who posted six points, got things going by getting inside for two to make it 4-2 with 5:57 left in the first quarter.

Billy Mingo, who posted 19 points to lead all scorers, put up the next four and it was 8-2 at the 5:02 mark.

The Demons cut the lead in half 31 seconds later with Azende O. Magee finding Anders for three.

The margin was three at the end of one quarter, as Bogalusa led 14-11.

The Lumberjacks’ solid start continued at the start of the second period, as Bogalusa opened the quarter with eight straight points.

Mingo converted a 3-point play to begin the scoring at the 7:14 mark, making it a six-point contest.

Ronald McMorris, who recorded five points, hit for two. DeSean Crumedy, who had nine points in the game, split from the free-throw line with 6:22 remaining. McMorris then made a steal on the inbounds pass, which led to Crumedy putting in a putback after a grabbing an offensive rebound, forcing Franklinton to call timeout with Bogalusa leading 22-11.

After the run, Franklinton came back with an 8-0 run of its own.

Nick Burkhalter, who scored 13 points, including two from beyond the 3-point line, had the first five points with a two and a three. Anders, who led the Demons with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, hit a three from the top of the key with 4:26 to go, trimming the lead to 22-19.

Bogalusa’s Kenyatta Scott, who scored six points on a pair of 3-pointers, pushed the lead back to six with a three.

The Lumberjacks went up, 28-21 with 1:31 left, but Franklinton closed the gap to 29-27 by halftime.

Bogalusa began the second quarter by scoring the first four points with Mingo hitting for two, and then he made a layup after taking a pass from Scott for a 33-27 lead.

Franklinton then came back with an 11-0 run.

Anders made a layup. Burkhalter had a steal and passed to Anders for two. Magee, who had five points, tied the game at 33-33 with a field goal with 3:37 on the clock.

Franklinton took the lead when Resean Hart, who logged five points, took a pass from Anders, got fouled in the act of shooting and split the free throws to make it 34-33 with 2:35 left.

Magee connected with Jadwynn Warren for two more and Anders grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the putback to make it 38-33 with 45 seconds left.

Bogalusa’s Crumedy ended the run on the next possession with an offensive board and putback, but the Demons closed the quarter with four straight. Anders hit for two and then came up with a steal in the backcourt and hit another field goal after he pulled down an offensive board. It was 42-35 after three quarters.

“Franklinton came out in the second half aggressive,” Bogalusa coach Ken Matthews said. “We missed too many free throws down the stretch.”

After going up 42-35, the Demons’ lead was never below six.

Peter Williams scored nine points for the Demons, including a 3-pointer. Adrian Fox finished with six and Warren and Sam Smith each added two.

Bogalusa’s Kenny Robertson and Laster Hills scored four points each. Hills also had a 3-pointer.

Varnado 79, Lakeshore 64

In other local boys’ action from Wednesday at the tournament, Varnado was victorious over Lakeshore, 79-64, at the Coquille Parks and Recreation Gym.

Four players scored in double figures for Varnado.

D.J. Jefferson led the way with 24 points. Errol Varnado posted 18 while Delrick Abrams had 18 and Damon Kirsch totaled 12.