By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — A fourth-quarter surge by Ruston High (3-4) was enough Saturday morning to propel Ruston to a 51-48 win over El Dorado, cementing the Bearcats’ sweep of the 2024 Remington Butler Classic after besting Red River High Friday night 62-47.
The Bearcats would have to overcome a sluggish first half in the Saturday morning contest, which Ruston High Assistant Coach Corey Deans attributed to the team not taking the morning opponent seriously enough.
“We came out late for warm-ups — we were lackadaisical,” Deans said after the game. “And we came out and warmed up bad, too. And that’s on the coach.”
After Bearcat senior C.J. Malone knocked down a pair of three-pointers for Ruston early, the Wildcats would respond and take a 13-10 lead going into the second quarter. Ruston outscored El Dorado 10-8 in the second quarter and trailed 21-20 at halftime.
El Dorado extended its lead to as many as five points in the second half, but Bearcat sophomore Ahmad Hudson came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 11-consecutive points for Ruston High as El Dorado watched the lead evaporate. Senior Fabian Stringfellow would hit a three-pointer with 2:38 remaining to tie the game at 48-48, and a defensive stop near the end for the Bearcats was enough to keep El Dorado from getting a shot off and sending Ruston to its third-straight win.
The Wildcats would struggle in in the final minutes to an energized Bearcat defense, unable to score the basketball at all in the final minutes. Ruston scored 22 points in the fourth quarter after scoring 29 through three quarters. Hudson led all scorers with 19 points, scoring 12 in the fourth after not playing most of the first half.
“The fourth quarter is what we want to be,” Deans said. “But we want to have that for the first three quarters. We have a lot of bodies, and we can play as hard as we want to play. I just didn’t think we came out ready to play this game.”
On the previous night, Ruston topped Red River 62-47, thanks in large part to senior Joran Parker leading the team with 19 points, scoring 16 of his final total in the second half alone. Sophomore Keshun Malcolm added 17 and Hudson finished with 12 points.
Ruston shot out to a 25-17 lead at the half and never looked back in the 15-point win.
Bearcat Scoring vs. Red River FG(3FG)-FT=TP
Zaterrion Sutton 1 = 2 points
Joran Parker 8(1) – 2-4 = 19
Ahmad Hudson 5 – 3-6 = 13
Jasen Morgan 1 – 1-1 = 3
Keshun Malcolm 6 – 5-8 = 17
C.J. Malone 2(2) = 6
Kayden Gray 1 = 2
Mason Delaney 0 – 1-2 = 1
Score by quarter, Friday, Dec. 20
Ruston: 10 + 15 + 18 + 19 = 62
Red River: 6 + 11 + 12 + 18 = 47
Bearcat Scoring vs. El Dorado FG(3FG)-FT=TP
Zaterrion Sutton 2 = 4 points
Ahmad Hudson 8 – 3-4 = 19
Fabian Stringfellow 3(1) 1-2 = 8
Keshun Malcolm 3(1) – 2-2 = 9
C.J. Malone 2(2) = 6
Mason Delaney 2 – 1-1 = 5
Score by quarter, Saturday, Dec. 21
Ruston: 10 + 10 + 9 + 22 = 51
El Dorado: 13 + 8 + 11 + 16 = 48
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