Ouachita stuns No. 2 Ruston on the road

That was the message for No. 7 (13-7) Ouachita, trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter against No. 2 (18-2) Ruston Friday night. 

Through switching between man and zone defenses early on and ultimately forcing turnovers in the final period with a 2-2-1 press, the Lions got back in the fight and trailed 56-55 with 19 seconds remaining. 

“I called timeout and told our guys to try and trap, and if we don’t get the steal, we have to foul as soon as they cross half court,” Ouachita head coach Jeremy Madison said. “They missed both free throws, and (Jonathan Bradshaw) got the rebound…” 

With no timeouts remaining, Bradshaw passed the ball up to Zion Weeks, who made a move to force the defense to collapse. Weeks then found Bradshaw on the game-winning layup, as the buzzer sounded. 

Ouachita players erupted in celebration on the floor, as Ouachita’s 57-56 victory improves the Lions' district record to 2-0 and puts Ouachita in the driver seat early into a compelling 2-5A race. 

“Our guys were just resilient,” Madison said. “I’m really proud because we had to deal with a lot of adversity. Things didn’t go our way. Calls didn’t go our way. Shots that we normally make didn’t fall for us. So we just had to keep chipping. Those guys beat us twice last year. Ruston hasn’t lost a home game all season. To beat those guys on that court was huge for us. We’ve gotten used to always having the bullseye on our back, so now we might have it back on us after that win. We have to come back and get ready for West Ouachita.” 

Bradshaw led the Lions with 18 points last night, and Weeks scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.