MANDEVILLE — Franklinton lost both games on the final day of the Mandeville Summer Basketball League at Mandeville High School on Thursday.

The opener was a loss to Mandeville that came down to the wire before the Demons fell 44-41 in a game that was competitive throughout.

Neither team had a lead bigger than five points — Mandeville led 44-39 with 38.5 seconds remaining.

Mandeville split from the line to grab that advantage, but Sheldon Baham knocked down a pair of free throws with 28.2 on the clock to trim it to 44-41.

The Demons’ defense tied up the ball on the ensuing possession and the arrow favored Franklinton with 20 seconds left. The Demons ran a play to possibly set up a potential game-tying three-point attempt, but turned it over and Mandeville hung on for the win.

Franklinton took a 9-7 lead with 13:33 left in the first half and held a slim lead until the end when the Skippers hit a shot to even the contest at 19-19 by halftime.

Mandeville took a 26-22 lead with 14:47 remaining, but the Demons scored seven straight. Raisean Hart connected with Zach Riley for two. Darrius Dawson then found Hart for a bucket that tied the game at 26-26.

Dawson, who scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, nailed a shot from long range, giving the Demons a 29-26 advantage at the 10:23 mark. But Mandeville responded with a 7-0 run of its own to retake a four-point advantage.

The teams continued to play a close game from there, but the Demons came up short in the three-point loss.

T.Y. Pope finished with 10 points while Hart tallied nine. Riley posted six points, and Sheldon Baham added four for the Demons.

The second game was a 51-30 loss to Bay High.

Thursday’s play capped off the Mandeville Summer Basketball League for 2016.

“I feel like we made major strides into becoming a good basketball team,” Franklinton coach Brad Oestriecher said. “We still have a long way to go, but the talent and ability is there.”

The league was not only beneficial to the players, but also for Oestriecher, who enters his first season as the head coach of Franklinton basketball in the upcoming year.

“It was extremely helpful for me,” Oestriecher said. “It allowed me to establish roles for each player and it helped me get to know each player’s strengths and weaknesses.”