The Barbe Bucs hit a few rough patches during their District 3-5A basketball game against Southside Tuesday evening at S.J. Welsh Middle School. But the Bucs’ defensive play bailed them out, turning a close game into a 56-34 blowout.

“Basketball is one of those games that sometimes you have to grind it out,” Barbe head coach Trey DiGiglia said. “Everything with us starts with our defense. Once we got our defensive energy up, things started going well on offense.

“It was a grind tonight, for sure. It was focusing and playing harder. That is our identity, but every team goes through its ups and downs. We had a few this game, but to my kids’ credit, when it was time to focus they did.”

Barbe led most of the game and by as many as 10 points in the first half. But the Sharks twice took a one-point lead early in the third quarter.

Down 27-26, the Bucs picked up the energy on defense and forced five turnovers in 3 minutes. That led to a 16-4 run to close out the quarter with Areil Williams picking up three steals and scoring 15 of her game-high 24 points.

Mikaylah Manley hit a buzzer-beater to end the third quarter, and the Bucs started the fourth on a 9-0 run. Manley finished with 18 points.

“Areil started the energy shift, and Mikaylah followed,” DiGiglia said. “Everyone knows those are our two aces, and the rest of the team followed. I am proud of them.”

The Bucs shut down the Sharks over the final 13 minutes, outscoring them 28-7 and forcing a dozen turnovers.

The win evened the Bucs’ district record after a loss to Acadiana on Friday.

“Obviously, we were disappointed in the way we started (district), but all we can do is respond to it and take it one game at a time, “DiGiglia said. “But we are excited about what is coming.

“Sometimes you have to go through something tough to get to where we need to be. We responded to adversity. That is the name of the game. That is what we preach every day. In basketball and life, you have to respond to adversity.”

Barbe took a 21-11 lead with 5:47 left in the second quarter on a jumper in the lane by Manley, who was up against a pair of defenders. The Sharks rallied to cut the deficit to 23-21 with 32 seconds left when Eymani Key, who finished with 10 points, found Karrington Eugene in the post for a bucket. Key was injured on the play after falling and hitting her head on the floor as another player landed on top of her.

Eugene led Southside (15-8, 1-1) with 13 points and 16 rebounds.