Eno Lirette
February 12, 2007Broadcasters enjoy a boon market in Tri-parishes
February 14, 2007Friday night’s battle of the Tigers between Thibodaux High and Terrebonne was destined to be a classic barnburner right from tip-off.
The game would live up to the hype as Terrebonne needed overtime to topple Thibodaux 81-75 in District 6-5A basketball action in Thibodaux.
In the fourth quarter, Thibodaux held a 74-73 lead with 8.7 seconds remaining. Terrebonne was forced to foul Shavon Coleman, who hit one of his two free throws and increased Thibodaux’s lead to 75-73.
Terrebonne in bounded the ball and got it across court. Ryan Westbrook’s desperation three point attempt fell short, but Brandon Diggs was able to grab the rebound and get the put back to tie the game at 75 just as time expired.
Terrebonne (18-12, 6-6) used a 6-0 run to finish off Thibodaux in overtime.
“We had our problems closing out games,” Terrebonne Head Coach David Neal said. “We executed and perhaps we are starting to understand that it’s important to stay poised in the late stages of the game. Tonight we stayed focus and executed.”
Right from the start, Terrebonne jumped out to an early 4-0 lead before back-to-back three pointers by Tristan Cheatam and Brandon Thompson put Thibodaux ahead 6-4. The lead continued to change hands until Thibodaux eventually put together a 7-0 run and lead 18-14 going into the second quarter.
Thibodaux (13-14, 7-5) looked as if it would put the game out of reach in the second. They hit four three pointers plus Thompson had 11 points in the second quarter alone as they jumped out to a 45-31 halftime lead.
While Terrebonne closed the gap some in the third, they were still unable to get any closer than 5 (61-56). Mike Jones had nine points alone in the third quarter but Terrebonne still carried a 63-56 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Terrebonne outscored Thibodaux 19-12 in the final quarter behind the late game heroics of Diggs to send the game into overtime.
Diggs finished with a game high 22 points while Westbrook added 20. Thibodaux had five guys score in double figures, led by Thompson who had 16.
Thibodaux Head Coach Tony Clark said his team was simply out played when it counted.
“They just beat us, simple as that,” Clark said. “I haven’t even figured it out yet.”
