MOSS BLUFF – New Iberia remained in control of the District 3-5A boys basketball race, staying perfect in league play with a 57-52 win over Barbe Friday night.

The Bucs (22-4, 3-2) lost their second consecutive district game after opening with three wins.

The Yellow Jackets (21-6, 5-0) won their 10th straight game, taking control with a 10-0 run the third quarter to break a tie. A Quintin Cook basket gave New Iberia the lead for good at 29-27. Wayne Randall-Bashay and Tylin Bray each scored a pair of baskets to extend the lead to 37-37.

Barbe, playing without starting forward Ethan Marque, got within six points when Andrew Mitchell opened the fourth quarter with an offensive rebound and put-back basket, but New Iberia scored six straight points to go up by double digits and led by eight or more points until the final minute of the game.

“I really like the way our kids competed tonight,” Barbe head coach Carl Klein said. “I really felt like we did a lot of good things. We competed on both ends of the floor. We made some good adjustments. Unfortunately we went through a couple of stretches where they were able to go on runs, that really hurt us. We made some turnovers that led to transition baskets for them.”

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with four lead changes. Barbe led by as many as seven, taking a 21-14 lead early in the second quarter on a 3-pointer by Jaylon Sam. New Iberia closed the half with a 14-3 run to take a 27-25 lead at halftime.

Barbe closes district play next week with home games against Sulphur and Southside.

“We have two tough games. We will have to play with this type of effort and intensity for 32 minutes,” Klein said. “If we can do that, I feel good about the direction we are going in.”