PRENTISS &8212; Here&8217;s when the best offense can be a good defense.

The shots weren&8217;t falling for WCCA in its South Central State opener against Laurel Christian and couldn&8217;t break the Lions&8217; 2-3 zone defense in the halfcourt. But once the second half began and the Rams switched to a full-court man-to-man defense, the game took a different turn.

One the Rams liked. They left 51-41 winners to move on to the second round and claim a spot in next week&8217;s state tournament at Greenville Christian.

&8220;It looked like we were stuck in mud,&8221; WCCA head coach Ray Olive said. &8220;We just had to play through it. We figured since we couldn&8217;t shoot we&8217;d make our defense our offense. We put the pressure on them, and we got some easy buckets that fell. You&8217;ve got those nights where nothing seems to fall. You&8217;ve got to be tough and play through it, put pressure on the other team and hope that it comes through.&8221;

Laurel led 16-13 at halftime, and things were hopping after that. The Rams (13-10) held a 19-12 advantage in the third to lead 32-28 heading into the fourth, and there the lead got as big as 18 points.

Patrick Landry finished with 22 points.

Huntington 62, Central 45

MINDEN, La. &8212; The Hounds switched defense and tried to slow down Central&8217;s two top shooters, but they eventually found the best way to do so in the second half.

Run the floor and wear them down.

It&8217;s nothing new to the 26-1 Hounds, who pulled away in the second half after trailing 30-29 at halftime. The win locks up a berth in the state tournament next week at Greenville Christian.

&8220;They had two that were hitting the 3-pointer, and we were struggling offensively,&8221; Huntington head coach David Boydstun said. &8220;We just couldn&8217;t get into a rhythm. We went back to the press, running off steals and rebounds. It looked like we took their legs away in the second half.&8221;

Huntington outscored Central 15-6 in the third to lead 44-36 and held a 14-9 advantage in the fourth.

Claiborne girls 69, Huntington 37

MINDEN, La. &8212; Claiborne led 19-6 after one and 44-14 at half. The Lady Rebels hit 13 of 25 shots from the field in the first half and all eight free throws attempted in the first quarter.

&8220;It was definitely a No. 1 playing a No. 4,&8221; Huntington head coach Penny Moak said. &8220;We knew they could shoot from outside.&8221;