Strong start for Simsboro hoops

Simsboro boys basketball has picked up right where the 2023-24 season left off as the Tigers have jumped out to a 2-1 start to the season, nearly knocking off top-ranked Gibsland-Coleman in a thrilling 78-75 contest on Monday.

The Tigers are ranked top five in the Class B power ratings after blowout wins over Saline (79-47) and Choudrant (72-52) to open the season. But Monday’s game was the biggest test yet for Simsboro, who looks to build off last season’s quarterfinals run and return to the top 28. Monday night showed the Tigers can make it happen, but the details within a game will need to be cleaned up before it all can come together.

“First off, credit to them for making the winning plays down the stretch,” Simsboro coach Adam Wodach said. “We had our opportunities, but we didn’t make more than them. It was an amazing high school basketball game.”

With ongoing gym renovations keeping the Tigers out of their main gym this season, Simsboro hosted Gibsland-Coleman at Ruston High’s gymnasium in front of a packed house on Monday, giving fans a nail-biting contest down to the final two minutes.

The Tigers fell short despite building a 23-16 lead in the first quarter, featuring impressive shot making from guards Jakaleb Modest and Justin Terrell — combining for six 3-pointers in the frame alone. Simsboro trailed 7-0 to start the first quarter but ended on a 23-9 run. Simsboro made seven threes in the first quarter and then made only five over next two quarters Gibsland fought back and walked into halftime with a 36-34 lead, turning Simsboro over and winning the rebounding battle by a distinct margin in the second quarter as the Tigers cooled off from outside.

But the Tigers roared back in the third as Modest heated up for 9 points, while Terrell hit two triples. Simsboro used the improved shot making, along with stronger ball-handling discipline, to retake the lead at 40-38. From there, Simsboro pulled ahead by as many as eight, but Gibsland got late buckets to head to the fourth with Simsboro in front 57-51.

The lead wouldn’t hold, even with Simsboro in front 66-61 with 3:30 to play. Gibsland-Coleman turned up its ball pressure once again and caused Simsboro trouble on offense, taking advantage of the ball sticking too much at the top of the key. Gibsland eventually took a 73-72 lead with physical play at the basket — going on a 5-0 run in a span of 40 seconds — to force a Simsboro timeout.

The Bulldogs didn’t give up their lead, winning the late-free-throw battle by hitting 8-13 free throws in the fourth. Simsboro, meanwhile, missed six straight free throws in the fourth and went 3-10 in the final frame overall.

Simsboro shot 13-of-32 at the foul line and lost the offensive rebounding battle 21-7.

“In a game like this, the little things matter so much,” Wodach said. “You have to do the small things. Every possession is so valuable in a game like this where both teams are really good. When they let off the gas, we punished them. When we went off the gas, they did the same to us.” Jakaleb Modest led Simsboro with 28 points, including a 6-of-13 mark from three, to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Ahmad Smith and Justin Terrell each had 14 points, with Terrell knocking down four of his eight three-point attempts.

“It’s been really cool to watch the guys get excited for him when he scores,” Wodach said of Terrell, who was on JV last season. “He plays with great passion, and he’s worked really, really hard to get to this point to where we can trust him in games like this.”

Jalen Outley and Trumarion Smith each had 8 points as well.

Simsboro still has plenty of opportunies to pick up big non-district wins, starting Friday at the Ebarb Tournament in a matchup against Negreet. On Saturday, Simsboro will finish the weekend against Stanley. And on Nov. 19, Simsboro will hit the road to face defending Division V Non-select state champions Zwolle.

“We have to get back ready to play. We don’t have a choice,” Wodach said. “Over this week, we will have played three of the four teams in the state tournament last season. That’s good for us to see and to try to get better by playing teams like that.”