Ryan Bond points to a loss way back in December as the turning point in the Ruston Bearcats season.
“Don’t get me wrong,” said Bond. “Winfield is a good team. I am not taking anything away from them. But a (Class) 2A school should not come into our place and beat us. We didn’t play well that night. There were some things I could have done better as a coach. Winfield beat us by six that night.
“That game really galvanized us. It showed us we have to pull together. That’s coaches and players. If we want to be successful, we have to be going in the same direction. It showed us some flaws that we needed to work on and fix. Since that night in December we have lost one game.”
Ruston (24-4) is one of the hottest teams in Class 5A and the No. 3 seeded Bearcats will open the playoffs Friday night at 6:30 p.m. against No. 30 seed Dutchtown (13-14). Tickets for the game will be $8 and can be purchased at the doors to the Ruston High School Main Gym.
“They have a played a tough schedule, and their record doesn’t reflect how good they are,” said Bond about his opponent. “They are well coached. Their coach has been at that school for a long time. He mentioned the last time they came to Ruston to play years ago.
“They have some good guards. They have a bunch of guards. They are a scrappy bunch. They can shoot it, and really handle it. They don’t have a lot of size. They play a lot of zone.”
Ruston is one of five teams in District 2-5A that will make up the 32-team field, including No. 2 seed Alexandria, No. 5 Ouachita, No. 10 West Monroe and No. 26 Pineville. The Bearcats finished 9-1 in district play, claiming the district title.
Bond feels that stiff competition his team faced in district play has prepared them for a run in the playoffs. However, he points more to team chemistry than anything in a reason why the Bearcats have a chance to end up at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles in a few weeks.
“I definitely think we can make a deep run,” said Bond. “Why? Our guys pull for each other. If you have a team full of guys who don’t care if they play 1 second or 32 minutes, you can be successful. They want the team to succeed. We are connected. We like each other. We hang out off the court. They have a group text where I’m sure they talk about coach all the time but they are always communicating. They are excited to come to practice and get better.”
Braylan McNeal, Jay Lillard and Aidain Anding are just three of the Bearcats who will need to be key contributors in the playoffs. Bond is quick to say that its Ruston’s depth that is one of its biggest assets.
“To be successful at the Class 5A level, you have to have more than just five,” he said.
The winner of the Ruston-Dutchtown game will face the winner of No. 14 East Ascension against No. 19 Hahnville.
