The boys said that the girls can’t have all the fun. The Gibsland-Coleman Bulldogs are headed to the LHSAA Class C State Championship. This will be the Bulldogs’ first trip to a Class C state championship, but fourth overall. Their last appearance was in 1999 when they won the Class B State Championship over Epps.
GCHS advanced with a 69-50 win over the No. 6 Phoenix Spartans out of Plaquemines Parish. Phoenix had eliminated their fellow district member, Summerfield, in the first round. The Spartans had pulled an upset on the road in knocking out No. 3 Hornbeck on the road.
Dontarious Coleman started the Bulldogs early with a quick basket. Michael Woodford returned with a quick steal and another score a small 4-0 run. Phoenix scored and stayed within reach of the Gibsland-Coleman. A three by the Spartans tied it at 5-5. Terrance James got into the mix with Coleman and spurred another small 4-0 run to push to 11-6. Phoenix scored and called a timeout at 11-8. James added another basket and free throw to push the lead to 6. The pesky Spartans came back with their own 5-0 run to get back within 14-13. Enough was enough for the Bulldogs at the last minute. Joshua Adams and James closed out with a 6-0 run to take the 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. James gave the Bulldogs 10 of their first-quarter points.
The Bulldogs’ hot hand continued into the second quarter James added another 4 points to his total along with a steal from Adams that turned into a basket. Phoenix eight-grader Battle snuck in a basket in the 7-2 run but the Spartans had to stop the drive as Gibsland-Coleman had pushed their lead to 11. The timeout worked as went on their own 7-2 run and got back to 28-22. Bulldogs streaked back with another 7-0 run and increased to the biggest lead at 13 so far in the game. Phoenix called a full-timeout. Gibsland-Coleman took a 37-24 lead into halftime. Terrance James had a phenomenal first half shooting 8 for 11 and achieving a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Third-quarter saw the Bulldogs try to pull away in the game as they accumulated as much as a 20-point lead. Coleman scored 7 pushing a strong 9-0 run. The Spartans scored the first shot of the quarter but went on a 3-minute drought to allow the Bulldogs to produce the run. Enclave bucketed a shot for Phoenix but James countered with a shot and a dunk that garnered him a technical for hanging on the rim. Gibsland-Coleman was up 50-30 at this point. The technical turned into four points for the Spartans. Enclave scored 8 points in the time from technical. Spartans had gone on a 10-2 run in the final two minutes and stayed only 13 down heading into the fourth quarter. Dontarious Coleman reached double digits in the third quarter with his 7 points.
The twin towers of Coleman and James continued to dominate under the rim for the Bulldogs. Ancar for the Spartans true to spark the team with a couple of baskets. Gibsland-Coleman went on another 7-0 run with Coleman kicking it off. Michael Woodford added another two baskets along with Joshua Adams scoring one. The Bulldogs were well in control up 65-45. They rolled to the championship with a 69-50 win.
Terrance James was the Bulldogs’ top scorer with 28 points. Dontarious Coleman finished with 18. Joshua Adams bucketed 10. Michael Woodford netted 8. Rictavious Harris added 5.
Gibsland-Coleman will take on the No. 1 seed Calvin (36-2) on Friday at 4 pm. The Cougars are riding a 19-game winning streak heading into the finals. The two losses this year came against Choudrant including one being a forfeit. They are a high-scoring offense that the lowest amount of points in a game was 53. Their path to the finals came in a first-round win of 95-50 over Johnson Bayou, a quarterfinal win of 68-51 over Hicks, and a semifinal win over the defending state champ Simpson 57-42.
This post may contain affiliate links which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through links. I will only recommend products that I have personally used! Learn more on my Private Policy page.