After falling behind 11-0 against the No. 3 seed Carroll Bulldogs, the Bossier Bearkats battled back.
Early in the fourth quarter, Bossier got within three at 38-35. The Bearkats had a chance to tie the game but missed a 3-pointer.
After that, the Bossier fans that were in the jam-packed gym in Monroe had little to cheer about,
Carroll went on a 10-1 run for a 48-36 lead. The Bulldogs went on to win the non-select Division II quarterfinal game 53-43.
Defending state champion Bossier, the No. 6 seed, closed its season 23-13.
Carroll (27-8) will face District 1-3A rival and No. 2 seed Wossman in the semifinals next week at the state tournament in Lake Charles.
Friday’s game was a rematch of last year’s state championship game won by Bossier 42-33. The Bearkats also beat the Bulldogs 56-52 in the second game of this season at Bossier.
After Carroll took the early lead, Bossier limited the Bulldogs to only two points the rest of the first quarter and went into the second trailing 13-5.
Carroll quickly went up by nine but the Bearkats didn’t let the Bulldogs pull away and trailed 22-16 at the half.
The Bulldogs hit a 3-pointer to go up by nine early in the third.
Bossier rallied agaiand got within four. But every time the Bearkats would get close, the Bulldogs had an answer.
Carroll went on a 7-2 run for a 38-29 lead. But Bossier scored the final four points of the quarter and was down by only 38-33 going into the final period.
The Bearkats scored early in the fourth to get within three. But the shots wouldn’t fall after that and Carroll pulled away.
As they did at the end of the first half, the Bulldogs spread the floor, took time off the clock and forced Bossier to foul. Carroll made 12-of-15 free throws in the fourth quarter.
Bossier senior Javon Johnson closed his outstanding career with a game-high 18 points. He scored 10 in the third quarter.
Junior Kerel Dean scored nine.
Treylan Neal led Carroll with 17 points. He knocked down two 3-pointers in the Bulldogs’ early run and had 10 points in the first quarter.
Lebron Deal hit three 3-pointers and scored 13. Jaden Williams and Lavion Owens scored nine each.