By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
LAKE CHARLES – So much was familiar Friday night for the Bossier Bearkats in their Division II Non-Select state title clash with the Carroll Bulldogs.
From summer camp matchups to AAU competition, preseason scrimmages — and for the third straight year, an early-season meeting, the Bearkats (24-10) and Bulldogs (25-12) know each other well. Add the fact that Bossier has played in seven state finals since 2009 with two more semifinal appearances, including last year, and the Bearkats felt right at home.
That culminated in a scene Bossier fans have seen before – the Bearkats racing to center court to hoist the school’s fifth state championship trophy, the fourth in the last 13 seasons, after smothering the Bulldogs 42-33 at Burton Coliseum.
Fittingly, the most experienced Bearkats were the most productive. Scoring 14 points, snagging nine rebounds, adding three assists and a pair steals, four-year starter Lakavin Thomas was voted the game’s Most Outstanding Player, but it could just as fairly been classmate Tahj Roots (also 14 points, eight rebounds, two steals).
Thomas led Bossier back from an early hole, scoring 13 by halftime. Roots nailed down the outcome, posting half his points in the final minute to cramp Carroll’s comeback.
Could the game have started much worse than Carroll charging to an 8-0 lead while Bossier bricked shots and committed a couple of sloppy turnovers?
Not a new experience. These Bearkats had been there before. In the teams’ Nov. 23 meeting at the Richwood Tournament in Monroe, Carroll zipped on top 9-0 but Bossier prevailed 59-56 with a late 3-pointer.
“That’s who we are. That’s the story of our season, weathering storms all year,” said first-year ‘Kats coach Justin Collins. “We knew they would make a run sometime; we didn’t know it would be in the first five minutes. But we take punches and keep fighting.”
The ‘Kats weren’t shaken, but stirred.
“If I hadn’t stepped up, it would have been bad,” said Thomas. “So I didn’t have any choice but to step up. I needed to bring the energy, and it went from there.”
“Lakavin made plays. Not only scoring, but he got rebounds, and did things that sometimes don’t make a stat sheet,” said Collins. “Fortunately tonight he scored and everybody noticed that.”
He repeatedly sliced through Bulldogs on the way to the rim as Bossier responded with 11 straight points. Carroll played an aggressive man-to-man, sending defenders out to meet Bearkats 20- and 30-feet from the basket, while Bossier spread its five around the frontcourt to dampen the defensive heat.
There were five lead changes before the half closed with a 6-0 Bossier burst into a 20-16 edge that doubled opening the third period. Afterward, the margin didn’t grow but it didn’t dwindle much until the last two minutes.
Collins and his staff relied on their first-hand knowledge of Carroll’s strengths and shortcomings, and observing tournament trends this week and previously, to devise a shrewd strategy.
“Win the rebound battle (Bossier did, 37-28), and make free throws (11 of 17, but 7 of the last 8), you’ve got a good chance,” said Collins. “We knew (Carroll) shoots and they all five crash the boards. If we limit them to one shot, we’ve got a chance. Their perimeter game is not their strength, it’s offensive rebounds and putbacks. You’ve got to out-tough them, and we did.”
The Bulldogs’ shooting, much like nearly every other team at Burton Coliseum this week, had the precision of the Chinese spy balloon. Carroll sank just 25 percent overall including a miserable 1-of-18 behind the 3-point arc. Tuesday, when fourth-seeded Bossier upset No. 1 Wossman, the Wildcats made just 2-of-23 from long distance. While the Bearkats’ defense had influence, that atrocious aim by the Monroe-based ballclubs did not surprise Collins and company.
“We don’t see teams down here shoot the ball very well. It’s a different atmosphere, a different arena. That makes an impact, I believe. If you hit a lot of 3s, we’ll just have to make some adjustments. But they didn’t make many.”
Bossier packed in the defense, blocked out on the boards, and starved Carroll. But the gritty Bulldogs managed a late 6-2 spurt that put the outcome on edge.
Their only trey of the game was a thunderous moonshot by Trey Neal with 1:58 left, drawing them within 33-32. The teams traded two empty possessions each before Roots toed the free-throw line with 54 seconds to go. He calmly sank the first two of five straight free throws on 1-and-1 opportunities in the final minute. He capped his personal seven-point surge on a steal that sent him streaking downcourt for a layup for an insurmountable 40-33 advantage.
“I’m always the guy they look to finish games with free throws. We work on them every day in practice, so I go to the line with full confidence, and knock them down, and close out the game,” said Roots.
As for his pretty swipe at the top of the key and conversion to clinch it, that countered Collins’ preference to stay packed in the zone and play the odds.
“I’m going to be honest. That was pure instinct. If I didn’t get that, it was going to be bad,” said Roots, as his coach nodded. “I just went for it.”
Once again, experience paid off.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com