By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON — A steady offensive attack by Calvary Baptist (16-2) proved too much for Ruston High (7-4) Tuesday night in the Main Gym as the Bearcats fell 65-50 and snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Firmly Founded.
“I don’t think we played hard tonight,” Ruston High head coach Corey Deans said. “Once we got down, I saw some dropped heads and walking on the court. We have to fix that as soon as possible. We have to prepare like we’re playing a championship game every night. You can’t take any games for granted. And we did that.
“All day yesterday, all day today and even over the weekend — our focus has been on something else other than basketball.”
Ruston took an early 6-0 lead in the first three minutes of the ball game, thanks in part to lay-ups from both senior Aidan Anding and sophomore Keshun Malcolm. Calvary, however, would answer with a 12-2 run over the following five minutes of the quarter. Both Anding and Malcolm would pick up two fouls in the first quarter, as well, and Calvary would take a 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Bearcats would not get the lead back for the remainder of the night.
“Once we got into foul trouble, we made some subs and did not execute the same,” Deans said. “We didn’t follow the game plan. It’s good this happened to us early because we didn’t have a great practice, we didn’t have a great shoot-around, and we didn’t have a great meeting. Our kids were focused on everything but the game.”
Malcolm would return to start the second quarter, but Calvary would hit two quick shots to take a 20-10 lead with 6:25 to go in the first half. The Bearcats and Cavaliers would trade free throws before Calvary hit another three to lead 24-11 at the 4:19 mark in the quarter. Malcolm would answer with eight straight points for the Bearcats over the following two minutes (on six made free throws in the span) to cut the lead to 24-19 before picking up his third foul and having to go back to the bench.
Calvary would end the rest of the quarter on a 6-2 run and lead 30-21 going into the halftime locker room, following nine missed free throws in the first half for the Bearcats.
The Cavaliers open the second half on a quick 5-0 run before Hudson grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on the made put-back. Hudson would make the free throw, and Anding would get a quick layup shortly after. Calvary, however, seemed to have an answer for any potential comeback from Ruston. The Bearcats would not get closer than nine points in the second half, as the Cavaliers stayed ahead for the remainder of the game.
“I take the blame for it,” Deans said of his team’s preparedness. “In practice, I’ve been allowing things that I don’t normally allow for. I think we’ve practiced about 50 percent. We’ve been on our high horse, and we got knocked off — it’s my fault.”
Ruston returns to action at home on Tuesday, Jan. 14, for the district opening matchup against West Monroe. The varsity girls will start at 6 p.m. and the boys will be afterward.
