By Kyle Roberts
RUSTON, La. — Major district implications. A playoff-style atmosphere. Two of the top players and teams in Louisiana.
There was even some heightened tension during warmups during the girls’ halftime in the previous game.
Yes, Ruston-ASH gave fans everything they wanted Friday night.
And for the home team, it was the Bearcats (15-3; 3-0 District) getting a dominant win by a final score of 72-52, which puts them in control of their District 2-5A destiny.
“I think we played well tonight, and most importantly, we played well on defense,” Ruston High Head Coach Marcus Jackson said. “We took away what they wanted to do, and we disrupted their sets. And we found each other in the open court, but it all led from the defensive end.”
The Trojans (24-3, 2-1 District 2-5A) got out to an early 6-1 before Bearcat sophomore Darren Ford got his first basket of the game at the 6:16 mark of the first quarter to cut the lead to 6-3. After a second basket by ASH’s Marcus Bolden, junior Ahmad Hudson subbed into the game.
Immediately, his presence was felt.
Following a pair of free throws from junior Keshun Malcolm, Hudson blocked a Trojan shot, took the ball back the length of the floor, and flushed a left-handed slam to tie the game 8-8 and send the home crowd into a frenzy.
“He’s just that kind of player,” Jackson said. “He’s really an impact player.”
During the span, ASH’s Tyshawn Duncan — currently the top basketball player in the state — got into early foul trouble and had to sit out most of the first.
The Trojans battled back into the second quarter after falling behind 20-13 in the early minutes of the period and cut the Bearcat lead down to 22-19 with 6:04 to go in the first half. The Bearcats would rely on transition offense and multiple assists to start to pull ahead near halftime and led 37-23 after a dunk by — you guessed it — Hudson with 0:17 to play in the quarter.
The Bearcats would get up by as many as 16 in the third quarter after an early basket by Ford to give Ruston a 39-23 lead with 7:44 to go in the period. ASH would shave the lead down to as low as 11 points early in the fourth at 51-40, but the Bearcats ultimately would keep their foot on the gas to get the dominant win over the No. 2 team in Division I, Select and served ASH its third loss of the season.
Ruston’s Keshun Malcolm led all scorers with 23 points, while Hudson added 20. Ford finished the night with 18.
“Keshun is a unique player, but any one of those guys can erupt on any night,” Jackson said. “It they can just wait on each other and feed off each other, then we’ll play like we played tonight.”
Ruston’s defense held Duncan to 11 points on the night for the Trojans.
When asked afterward about Hudson not starting, Jackson said the decision was bigger than one basketball game and that he was proud of Hudson’s response.
The Bearcats will be back in action Monday, Feb. 9, against Neville to continue district play at home. Tip off will be right after the girls’ varsity game.
