A pair of free throws by No. 5 Hammond’s Mark Bridgewater with six seconds left in the game ended the No. 4 Sulphur Golden Tornadoes season on Friday in a 59-58 heartbreaker in Hammond in the Class 5A quarterfinal playoffs.
It was a wild finish to a game that saw eight lead changes and eight ties with neither team leading by more than eight points.
“It was a very tough loss,” Sulphur head coach Clint LeBato said. “It is the toughest loss that we have ever had.
“We played extremely hard and I am extremely proud (of them). Wow, it is just tough. The guys are hurting real bad. I am still thinking that it is not real. We have worked so hard. My God, one point from the Top-28. They were just one possession short. It is going to be tough for a while.”
The loss was especially tough for the Tors’ four seniors, Chip Armelin, Aaron Cupit, Matt LeBato and Tanner Kuykendall.
“These are some unbelievable seniors that we had,” LeBato said. “We have not had four seniors that have contributed so much to the program in a long time.
“I am extremely proud of them. I know they have to be hurting because their goal was to win a state championship.”
With the game tied 57-57, LeBato hit the second of two free throws with 1:44 left in the game to give Sulphur a 58-57 lead.
With 50 seconds left, Hammond got the ball back and began to stall in order to get the last shot.
Mikel Henry put a three-point attempt that missed the rim but the Tors were not able to get the rebound.
Sulphur’s Chip Armelin blocked Bridgewater’s shot on the rebound with seven seconds left and it looked like the Tors would survive. But Bridgewater got the rebound again and was fouled by LeBato with 6.1 seconds left.
Bridgewater was just 1-for-3 from the free throw line before that but made both shots giving the Tornadoes a 59-58 lead.
The Tors got the ball back for one last attempt and after having to call a timeout on their first inbound attempt they were able to get the ball to Armelin.
Armelin took the ball the length of the court but was corned by Bridgewater and Domonick McCoy near the Sulphur bench. With time running out he launched a three-point attempt at the buzzer that bounced off the rim and ending the Tors season.
“It was tough,” LeBato said. “We tried some stuff and we didn’t settle down.
“I thought we just got a little excited there and we just went a little too fast.
“We had control of the game and we tried to set up plays that I know would have got us some easy baskets but that is just the way it goes. We didn’t quite hang on and do our job.”
The first quarter set the tone for the game with four lead changes and four ties.
Hammond struck first when Bridgewater hit the first of his seven three-pointers just over a minute into the game. Bridgewater finished with a game-high 24 points.
Sulphur tied the game at 3-3 on a three of their own by Cupit and took their first lead on free throw by Armelin with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter.
Hammond led by as much as five points in the first quarter but Cupit hit another three to pull Sulphur within one, 18-17, heading into the second quarter.
The Tors patience started to pay off in the second quarter as they took a 27-21 lead after a layup on a fastbreak by D.J. Thibodeaux with 3:31 left in the first half.
But Bridgewater continued to plague the Tors from long range with two threes that helped the Tornadoes to prevent Sulphur from pulling away.
“We lost him (Bridgewater) a few times,” LeBato said. “We told our guys to make sure to know where he was.
“We came in here and did what we are supposed to do. It is just one possession we didn’t quite get it done. The bottom line is we just didn’t quite get it done.
After taking a 35-29 lead into halftime, Cupit found Armelin in the lane to open the second half and give Sulphur their biggest lead of the game, 37-29.
But Hammond came roaring back over the next four minutes with a 14-2 run that gave them a 43-39 advantage with 3:57 left in the third quarter.
Down by five, Armelin hit a three-pointer and Williams hit a shot in the lane to tie the game at 45-45.
With the game tied 49-49, Armelin hit Sulphur’s only two field goals of the fourth quarter to give them a 53-49 lead with under six minutes left.
LeBato went 4-for-4 from the free throw line over the next minute and a half to keep the Tors in the lead before the fateful final minute of the game.
Armelin had a double-double in his final game with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three assists and two blocks. LeBato had 13 points, four rebounds, and a block and Cupit had eight points. Kuykendall had four points and four assist.
Sulphur junior center Williams finished with 10 points, five rebounds, four assist and four blocks.
McCoy had 19 points for Hammond and Henry added eight points.
Hammond will play Brother Martin in the semifinals on Wednesday at the Cajundome in Lafayette. No. 6 Brother Martin upset No. 1 St. Augustine 62-58 on Friday.
Box Score
Sulphur 17 18 14 9–58
Hammond 18 11 20 10–59
SULPHUR (30-6)–Armelin 21, LeBato 13, Williams 10, Cupit 8, Kuykendall 4, Thibodeaux 2. Team: FG (23-45) 3pt (4-8) FT (8-15).
HAMMOND (29-3)–Bridgewater 24, McCoy 19, Mikel Henry 8, Terrance Bridges 4, Gary Johnson 2, Kylan Douglas 2. Team: FG (22-65) 3pt (10-33) FT (5-12).
