By Kyle Roberts
MONROE, La. — In district matchup make-ups following last week’s winter weather, Ruston High’s basketball squads split on the road Wednesday night with the Lady Bearcats falling first and then the boys getting the win over the Lions in the follow-up game.
Bearcats hold off late surge by Lions
Ruston High (13-3, 3-0 District 2-5A) would hold on to get a 66-61 win over the Ouachita Lions (7-15, 1-3 District 2-5A) despite a late surge by the Lions in the fourth quarter.
The first quarter saw Ruston go up 5-0 early thanks to baskets by sophomores Kohl Gray and Darren Ford in the first 90 seconds before Ouachita responded with a quick 5-0 run of its own to tie the game 5-5 with 5:19 to go in the period. Both teams traded baskets to put the score at 10-10 with 3:41 to go in the first before Ruston’s Ford and junior Ahmad Hudson put on a dunking clinic and helped the Bearcats outscore the Lions 12-3 and take a 22-13 lead going into the second.
After junior Keshun Malcolm opened the second quarter with a corner three, Ouachita would go on a 12-3 run over the next three minutes to cut Ruston’s lead to 28-25 with 5:10 to play in the first half. The ‘Cats answered and outscored Ouachita 12-5 for the rest of the quarter to lead 40-30 going into the half.
Whistles abounded in the third quarter as both teams mostly shot free throws until Malcolm finally scored the first basket of the quarter to put Ruston up 46-31 with 4:47 to go in the third. And after Ouachita got back within 11 points near the end of the period, Ruston sophomore Cash Ingram knocked down a three-pointer with 41 seconds to go in the third to give Ruston a 52-38 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
The Bearcats would lead in the fourth by as many as 20 points before the Lions closed the gap following multiple technical fouls and missed free throws by Ruston down the stretch.
Ouachita wins low scoring game over Ruston’s girls
The Ouachita Lady Lions (11-11) gave Ruston its fifth loss of the season (12-5) Wednesday night by a final score of 50-38 in a District 2-5A matchup makeup game from last week’s winter storm.
”We were simply outplayed tonight,” Ruston Head Coach LaShanda Cooper said. “They brought more physicality and controlled the boards, earning multiple offensive rebounds. We made too many costly mistakes and struggled to finish at the rim or convert open shots. Unfortunately, it was one of those games where nothing seemed to go our way.”
The Lady Bearcats took their only lead of the night with 5:08 to go in the first quarter after a three-pointer by Ruston sophomore Jayleen Spann for a 5-3 lead. Ouachita, however, would respond with a 9-1 run over the next three minutes to get up 12-6 before Ruston would score again thanks to a three-pointer by senior Journi Douglas to cut the Lion lead to 12-9 heading into the second quarter.
The offense for Ruston would struggle in the second quarter as a lay-up by Spann gave the Lady Bearcats there only points in the first five minutes of the period before senior Akeirah Jones knocked down a three to cut the Lion lead down to 20-14 with 3:20 to go in the first half.
Ruston’s defense, however, only surrendered one basket in the final five minutes of the first half and trailed 22-15 going into the halftime locker room.
The Lady Lions would use an explosive third quarter to take an 14-point lead midway through the period at 30-16. The Lady Bearcats chipped away at the Ouachita lead to trail 34-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
Ruston and Ouachita would trade runs back and forth in the final quarter of play, with the Lady Bearcats pulling back in to get as close as seven points down before the Lady Lions ended up with the victory.
Junior Bailee Harrison led Ruston in scoring with 11 points.
Both Ruston’s boys and girls will return to action Friday, Feb. 6 at home for another district matchup- this time with ASH at home in the Main Gym. The girls will tip off at 5:30 p.m. with the boys to play afterward.
