Bearcats throttle Pineville 80-61
Photo by Bret McCormick Ruston head coach Ryan Bond talks to his team during a timeout at Pineville Friday night. Bond was happy with the Cats building a big lead in the first half, but disappointed in their second half play. Ruston has now won nine straight games.
PINEVILLE — Ahmad Hudson scored 24 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to pace four Ruston Bearcats in double figures as they opened District 2-5A play with an 80-61 road win over Pineville.
Ruston (11-7, 1-0) shook off a slow start as the Rebels scored the first eight points of the game before rallying to open a 24-point halftime lead and cruising to victory.
Despite the 19-point victory, Ruston head coach Ryan Bond was disappointed with the way his team played in the second half, when the Rebels (13-2, 0-1) outscored Ruston 41-36 following the Cats’ 44-12 run.
“The second half was atrocious,” Bond said. “It was just terrible basketball in the second half. The effort in the first half was great, and the second half was terrible.”
Hudson, the Bearcats’ 6-7 freshman sensation, who was matched up against Pineville 6-6 senior Javonte Thomas, shook off a sluggish start to turn in a dominant performance that also included 4 steals and 5 blocked shots.
After scoring just one point in the first quarter, which the Bearcats closed on a 22-6 run to take an eight-point lead, Hudson added 9 points in the second and 7 in each of the final two quarters. He also limited Thomas to just 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Bond said Hudson continues to show improvement as he gets more games under his belt, but he didn’t want to talk about anyone’s individual performance after the way his team played in the second half.
“We’ve still got to get better as a team,” he said.
The Bearcats, who have now won nine straight games, held Pineville to just one field goal in the second quarter and outscored the Rebels 22-6 in the quarter to take a 44-20 lead at the break. Joran Parker, Lonnie Dimmer and Zaterrion Sutton each knocked down 3-pointers in the quarter, while Zhy Scott threw down a thunderous dunk.
As well as the Bearcats played in the first half, Bond was more concerned with the “individualistic” play he saw from his team in the second half as well as an increase in turnovers, missed layups and numerous blown defensive assignments. After holding Pineville to just 20 first-half points, the Rebels outscored Ruston 23-18 in the third quarter.
“When you have a 24-point lead, you put the pedal to the metal and keep going,” Bond said. “You want to get it to a 35-point lead. Ultimately, that’s our goal. You want a 35-point lead and get that clock going.”
Ruston led by as many as 27 points after a putback dunk by Hudson was followed by consecutive baskets by Hudson and Parker to give the Bearcats a 59-32 lead. Pineville closed the quarter on an 11-3 run.
“This feels like a loss to me,” Bond said. “It really does because in the second half they beat us. They whipped us in the second half, physically (and) emotionally.”
Pineville was able to cut the Bearcats’ lead to 15 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get any closer as Ruston closed with two baskets by Hudson and a 3-pointer and dunk by junior Aidan Anding.
Anding finished with 18 points and 5 assists, while Dimmer added 16 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Parker finished with 15 points and 5 boards. Senior Evyn Goree led Pineville with 16 points. RHS will be back in action
Lady Bearcats 65, Lady Rebels 10
Ruston pitched a first-quarter shutout and opened a 28-point lead before cruising to a 55-point win to improve to 16-8 on the season and 1-0 in District 2-5A.
Jaliyah McWain scored 13 points to lead a balanced scoring attack as 13 of the 15 players on the roster scored.
The Lady Bearcats (16-7, 1-0) began the week with a road loss to Sterlington before bouncing back to win at Northwood-Lena on Wednesday and at Pineville on Friday. Ruston has now won eight of its last 10 games.
“We really are focusing on our habits that will help build us toward the habits we want to have in the playoffs,” Ruston coach Meredith Graf said. “So for us, no matter the opponent, we are gonna focus on … the things that we can control.”
The Lady Bearcats have a team without much height but with a lot of depth as 11 players scored against Northwood-Lena and 13 against Pineville. Graf said her players are not shying away from the challenge they face in the paint, but they try to compensate by utilizing their depth and playing hard from start to finish.
“They’re coming in ready to roll, and they’re playing hard when they’re in there,” Graf said.
McWain added 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals to go with her 13 points, while Angelica Green added 10 points.
