By Chris Kinkaid

THE DAILY NEWS

Franklinton had a tough second half in a 71-56 loss to Edna Karr in the regional round of the Class 4A state playoffs on the road Tuesday.

The Demons led 34-31 at halftime, but Karr outscored Franklinton 20-9 in the third quarter and 20-13 in the fourth.

“Their length really overwhelmed us in the second half,” Franklinton coach Randall Ginn said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well and when they missed they were able to get the rebound. We played about as close to a perfect half as you can have, but we needed two of those to beat this team. We got a lot of respect from their fans and their coaches, which meant a lot to our kids.”

Tray Anders led the Demons with 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Nick Burkhalter posted 14 and he knocked down a pair of threes.

Azende T. Magee recorded six points on two 3-pointers while Sam Smith and Raisean Hart had five each. Darrius Dawson posted four, T.Y. Pope logged three and Azende O. Magee added two.

The loss concluded a 23-7 season for the 14th-seeded Demons.

Ginn spoke about the 2015-16 campaign.

“There’s only one team that’s happy at the end of the season,” Ginn said. “We upped our schedule a little this season, adding the likes of Brother Martin (FHS won 63-57), Jesuit (FHS lost, 50-44) and Ben Franklin (FHS won, 91-70) going to the Chalmette Tournament. We had a little rough patch. We started 5-5, but won 18 of 20.”

The two losses in the 18-2 stretch were against Salmen and Karr.

Salmen lost to Ben Franklin in the opening round, 45-44. Franklin lost to fourth-seeded Bossier, 58-27, in the second round.

This year’s seniors were Anders, Burkhalter, Jadwyn Warren, Peter Williams, Azende O. Magee, Azende T. Magee and Adrian Fox.

“The senior class may be the best basketball IQ class I’ve had since I’ve been here. A lot of them were forced to play as freshmen and that was their only losing season,” Ginn said. “As sophomores, they went 17-9. As juniors, they went 19-7 and this year, they went 23-7. They won a playoff game, which was the first time here in a while. They helped bring this program back to being recognizable around the state.”

Third-seeded Karr advances to the quarterfinals to face No. 11 Fair Park. Fair Park topped sixth-seeded Breaux Bridge, 32-29.