Ellender survives overtime shootout

Sat. February 04, 2012 at 12:45 a.m. | By Chris Singleton/Staff Writer

GRAY — For one night, Ellender and H.L. Bourgeois took a break from respective district competition to square off in a key nondistrict showdown on Friday.

But with power points on the line, Friday's game was just as important as a district game for both teams, making the intensity even higher.

Ellender used 36 points from Houston Chatman, 30 points from Gibby Talbot and 21 points from Cameron Parfait to escape the Braves' gym with a 104-100 win in overtime over H.L. Bourgeois.

The Patriots trailed 76-65 at the end of the third quarter, but they stormed back with a 29-18 fourth quarter run to force overtime. Ellender (20-7 overall; ranked No. 15 in latest Class 4A state ratings) went on a 10-6 overtime run to win.

Ellender coach Scott Gauthreaux praised his team for fighting back, in a game that eight total double-digit scorers.

"I liked the way the kids just did not give up in the game," Gauthreaux said. "Both teams were tired. I've been preaching for two years to these guys that in big games, both teams are going to be tired, but the team with the most strength is going to come out and win. We kept fighting against them, and some other guys stepped up for us.

"Overall it was a team effort. Give credit to Bourgeois. It was a huge game because of the power points system. It was a big one for both of us in the middle of district. Hopefully this will springboard us into the last two district games and into the playoffs."

Braves coach Andrew Caillouet said the game was a tough one to swallow for H.L. Bourgeois (16-11; rated No. 28 in Class 5A rankings), which got 34 points from Tevin Jackson, 19 points from Deonta Ward, 18 points from Tyrone Amacker and 12 points from Issac Allridge.

"This game was hard," Caillouet said. "I feel for the kids because they played their butts off. We played well enough to win, but now you've got to put it behind you and pick it up and close out the district hopefully on a high note."

Thanks to several turnovers from the Braves, Ellender got three baskets in transition from Parfait and Chatman to cut the lead to 81-79 with 4:36 left in the fourth quarter.

Following a Deonta Ward layup that put the Braves ahead by four, Parfait's hot hand continued in the fourth quarter as he hit a 3-pointer and then scored after making a steal to give Ellender a 84-83 advantage with 3:06 remaining.

The Patriots also received an additional three points when the officials said Ellender's Jarrod Turner hit a 3-pointer at one point of the game, making the score 87-83 Ellender.

H.L. Bourgeois' coaching staff argued the call, saying Turner didn't make a shot during the game, but the officials stuck by the decision due to it being in the home team's score book.

Caillouet declined comment on the call, except for saying the "phantom" 3-pointer was a big turning point in the game.

Later in the fourth quarter, Talbot put the Patriots ahead 93-89 after a hook shot in the paint with 48.5 seconds left, but H.L. Bourgeois' Tevin Jackson drained a 3-pointer to make it 93-92 with 35.5 seconds remaining.

After Ellender's Chaz Williams (10 points) hit 1-of-2 free-throws, making it 94-92 with 23.7 left, H.L. Bourgeois tied it at 94 when Derian Moore scored a layup off a pass from Allridge with 8.7 seconds remaining.

Ellender got two shots in the final seconds from Talbot and Parfait, but neither connected and the game went to overtime.

With the scored tied at 96 at the 1:15 mark in overtime, Talbot converted on another shot that put the Patriots head by two points. Ward looked to tie it with a layup attempt on the ensuing possession, but Talbot came away with another block and full-court pass to Williams, who scored on a fastbreak layup to make it 100-96 with 53 seconds left.

After Talbot hit two free-throws that extended the lead to 102-98 with 37.6 seconds remaining, Williams later converted on another open layup, which sealed the win for Ellender.

Caillouet said H.L. Bourgeois, which led 24-19 after the first quarter and 48-43 at halftime, hurt itself with mistakes in the fourth.

"We worked well until we started allowing too much dribble penetration, and I thought that is what definitely got Ellender over the top," he said. "When we had the big lead, but we turned the ball over way too much. We need to take better care of the ball."