Missed call ends Ellender’s run

PERMITS
March 9, 2016
Anterina Guidry
March 9, 2016
PERMITS
March 9, 2016
Anterina Guidry
March 9, 2016

An error by the officials cost the Ellender Memorial basketball team a shot at continuing its quest for the Class 4A State Championship.


Two clutch free throws by senior forward Quentin Scott with 7.2 seconds left capped a double-digit fourth quarter rally for the Patriots and tied Friday’s game at 61 with less than 10 seconds to play.

As Bossier came the other way, Ellender applied pressure. The Bearkats beat it, and got the ball to halfcourt with about three seconds to play. A dribble drive got the ball to the paint with about .5 seconds to play. Next came a pass across the lane, then a layup by Chris Davenport while the buzzer echoed throughout the gym.

Then chaos.


Officials signaled that the basket was good, then sprinted out of the gym – customary procedure for referees at the end of a high-stakes game.

But replay footage after the fact showed that the ball was still easily in Davenport’s hands as the clock sat at 0.0, meaning that the layup should have been waived off, and the game should have gone to overtime.

But there’s no instant replay in high school basketball, and the human error stood. Ellender lost to Bossier 63-61 – a loss that ended the team’s season.


After the game, the photo of the clock at 0.0 before the shot was fired went viral, and the Ellender Nation expressed its displeasure in the loss.

Patriots coach Cornell Scott said it was the most heartbreaking loss he’s ever been a part of. He said he told his team to not hang its heads, because he’s proud of how hard they worked all season.

“The photo and video speaks for itself,” Scott said. “He didn’t get the shot off. We didn’t get an explanation. The one official said the shot was good, then they took off for the locker room. … It’s disappointing. The kids are devastated. But I’m so proud of our guys. We fought all game, and they never gave up.”


Friday’s game was an uphill battle for the Patriots from start-to-finish.

The Patriots struggled offensively throughout the first half, limping to a 24-17 deficit at halftime. Scott said Ellender had clean looks, but just couldn’t score – a possibe byproduct of either nerves or the massive trip the Patriots had to make to play the game.

“First half, we just didn’t score,” Scott said. “The ball just wasn’t going in for us for whatever reason.”


In the second half, Ellender flipped that around. The Patriots scored 27 points in the third quarter alone to trail 46-44 after three quarters. But just as Ellender surged in the third, Bossier pulled out in front in the early fourth, taking a double-digit lead with five minutes to play.

But the Patriots rallied hard, setting the stage for the last-second shenanigans that ended their season.

Scott said he had a hard time saying goodbye to his four-player senior class, which features Scott, guard Eric Welch, guard Curtis Anderson and big man DeMetrius Price.


He said the loss stings the most because he believed those guys deserved to go out with a title.

“We thought we were the best team,” Scott said. “We thought we should get our shot to play for it. It’s just unfortunate it didn’t get to happen.”

OTHERS BOW OUT, AS WELL


Heartbreak wasn’t unique to just Ellender.

All the locals who made it to the Elite 8 had to deal with the agony of defeat.

In Gonzales, Central Lafourche led by 10 with four minutes to play, but squandered the lead late and fell 71-64 to East Ascension.


The loss ends the Trojans season with a 21-10 record. In all 31 games, Central Lafourche led in the fourth quarter. That, of course, means that they blew 10 fourth-quarter leads on the season.

“We had it,” Central Lafourche boys’ basketball coach Mark Sanders said. “You look over at the scoreboard and you think to yourself that this one is ours. Then they make a three, then we foul a guy shooting a jump shot and it becomes an and-1. Then we miss free throws and turnover the ball. Suddenly, it slipped away. It’s a tough one for our kids.”

The Trojans trailed 14-13 after the first quarter, but dominated the next two and a half quarters to storm out in front. Central led 35-25 at half, 49-42 after three and then 58-48 with four minutes to play.


But that’s when the wheels came off and East Ascension pushed forward. The Spartans closed the game on a 23-6 run, led a dominant showing from Le’Aaron Cain, who led all scorers with 25 points. Cain scored both inside and out, then made key free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

For H.L. Bourgeois, their loss started from the tip.

The Braves fell behind No. 1 Natchitoches Central 13-0 on Friday night, and never looked back, falling to the Chiefs 85-58.


The loss ends the Braves season with a 24-9 record, but H.L. Bourgeois will likely be back in a big way in 2016-17. The Braves graduate just guard DeSean Walker. •

A video shot shows the ball still in the hands of a Bossier player as the clock rests on 0.0. The shot was incorrectly counted, giving Bossier a win.COURTESY