Tangi Hoops ... 2008 Tangi Parish GAME OF THE WEEK

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FINALS BOYS’ TOP 28
Falcons play “BIG” in state title win over taller Ferriday.
St. Thomas wins second straight state championship.

Finals	1	2	3	4	OT	Final
Ferriday Trojans	12	12	14	14	xx	52
St. Thomas Falcons	15	14	10	22	xx	61

Gary Lee, TangiHoops.com
Photos by Derick Hingle, Design High Sports

LAFAYETTE—Size does matter, but for the St. Thomas Falcons it is not how big they are but how “big” they play. For the second year in a row, the Falcons used an impressive display of speed and “heart” to overcome a

MVP—Senior Thaddeus Showers of St. Thomas (11) was named the game’s most valuable player in the Falcons 61-52 win over Ferriday.

taller opponent in the Class 2A State Championship game. St. Thomas rolled up 23 points off turnovers to frustrate the bigger, taller Ferriday Trojans and earn a 61-52 win to claim their second title in a row.
    “You saw a team tonight that really exemplified what we have been about this whole year and that is playing together and playing for each other,” said St. Thomas head coach Errol Gauff. “When we got down a point late in the third quarter and we had several guys in foul trouble, our guys stepped up for each other and gave the effort it took to overcome whatever adversity whether lack of size or experience. I could not be more proud of the commitment and the attitude of this group. They refused to lose.”
    Ferriday led only once in the first half as Joshua Upchurch scored the first two points of the contest after the opening tip off with 7:24 still showing. The Falcons’ Thaddeus Showers answered with a three-pointer a few seconds later followed by a pair of jumpers by Zaveral Jackson and St. Thomas took an early 10-3 lead with 4:03 left in the first period. The Trojans battled back to cut the margin to three at 10-7 on a pair of free throws by Montrell Tennessee and after trailing 15-8 following a three-pointer by Ryan Gamble, Ferriday rallied to within three again at 15-12 to close out the first.
    The Falcons threatened to pull away in the second period opening with a 12-2 run to take a 27-14 lead with 3:10 showing. The double-digit advantage was paced by

WATKINS FOR TWO!—Senior Jordan Watkins goes up strong for two points in Saturday’s 61-52 win over the Ferriday Torjans in the Class 2A State Championship game.

the outside sharp-shooting of Showers and in the inside play-making of Burchess. “We would not have won these past two years without the play of Stephen (Burchess),” said Gauff. “Thaddeus (Showers) gives up a solid outside shot on offense, but with Stephen we just ask him to go out and make plays and he has done it for us time and time again.”
    The Trojans would not go away, however, as Alrion McKeel dropped in a pair of three-pointers in a final flurry to help pull Ferriday back to within five by halftime at 29-24. McKeel would finish with 11 points.
    The Trojans kept it close in the third period as McKeel and Tennessee did most of the work for the Ferriday squad. With the Falcons leading 37-34 at the 2:50 mark, Tennessee hit the first of two consecutive jumpers in less than a minute to give the Trojans a 38-37 lead with 1:22 showing. Raymone Andrews and Burchess collected their third fouls during this stretch and Ferriday seemed poised to extend their lead. Showers, however, had an answer for St. Thomas as the senior snatched up a defensive rebound with 42 second remaining in the period and drove the length of the court for a short jumper to give the advantage back to the Falcons. St. Thomas would not surrender the lead again.
    “This was a tough point in the game for us. A point where our guys could have said that it is just not our night and packed it in,” explained Gauff. “Thaddeus (Showers) made a play that changed the momentum for us and helped settle our guys down. It is the kind of play he has made many times and is indicative of his senior leadership.”
    Ferriday could get no closer than three in the final stanza as four different Falcons scored one or more baskets to pace a 22-point offensive burst that propelled St. Thomas to their second straight state title.

STATE PLAYOFFS!
FALCONS WIN 2nd TITLE
Falcon defense frustrates Ferriday in route to 61-52 win!