Tors nip Gators in fourth quarter

RODRICK ANDERSON
Sports Editor

SULPHUR–For 27 out of 32 minutes the No. 13 LaGrange Gators defense was able to hold the No. 4 Sulphur Tors in check. But after putting the sellout crowd on pins and needles, it was the Tors defense that took over in the second half holding the Gators to eight points for a 33-28 win on Tuesday in the Class 5A regional round.

“I knew it was going to be a battle,” Sulphur head coach Clint LeBato said. “It didn’t look good for a long time.

“We kept battling and finally took the lead there in the fourth quarter. You have to tip your hat off to LaGrange. They (LaGrange) came in here and really gave us a battle. They took it to us defensively. I thought tonight was a gut check and our guys came through big.”

The Tors will be headed to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004. Sulphur will travel to No. 5 Hammond (28-3) on Friday. Hammond beat No. 21 Southwood (20-16) 101-77 on Tuesday.

The Tors (30-5) led before the game even started when Matt LeBato made two free throws after a technical foul was given to LaGrange’s Darius Edwards for dunking in pregame warmups.

But the Tors struggled from the beginning against the Gators’ defense shooting just seven percent from the field in the first quarter and turning the ball over four times.

The Gators (23-10) finished the first quarter on an 8-0 run and held a 20-15 lead at halftime.

LaGrange took the lead on a three by Josh Melanson and held the that lead until the fourth quarter.

But like their first round game, the Tors’ defense took over in the second half holding the Gators to just eight points on 3-for-27 shooting.

“It was another defensive battle,” LeBato said. “Eight points in the second half for LaGrange was the key.

“We have been playing defense all year and tonight was no different.”

LaGrange was able to hold the Tors leading scorer Chip Armelin to just four points in first three quarters but Armelin led the Tors rally in the fourth quarter.

“We lost our intensity and our aggressiveness,” LaGrange head coach Cary Collins said. “We controlled the game for three quarters and all of the sudden he (Armelin) flipped the switch on us.

“You have to give them (Sulphur) credit for coming out in the second half an getting after us a little harder.”

The Gators led 23-19 heading into the fourth quarter but Armelin would go on to score the first eight points of an 11-0 run that gave the Tors’ a 30-23 lead with 52 seconds left in the game.

Armelin tied the game at 23-23 on a jumper near the three-point line and hit a baseline jumper with 3:55 left in the game to give the Tors their first led since the opening quarter, 25-23.

Edwards led the Gators in the first half with 10 of their 20 points but foul trouble stopped him cold in the second half. After picking up two quick fouls to start the third, Edwards was pulled from the game. He came back in fourth quarter but fouled out with 2:48 left in the game having been held scoreless in the second half.

“That killed us,” Collins said. “That really hurt us because he looked like he was going to come out tonight. He is a spark to us out there.”

Armelin led Sulphur with 14 points while LeBato finished with nine points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Donovan Williams had four points, five rounds and four blocks for the Tors.

Note: The Tors had 14 turnovers in the game and LaGrange 13. Sulphur’s next game will be a battle of Tors as Hammond’s mascot is the Tornadoes.

Box Score
LaGrange    14    6    3     5-28   
Sulphur    5    10    4    14-33

SULPHUR–Armelin 14, LeBato 9, Williams 4, Tanner Kuykendall 6. Team: FG (12-36) 3pt (2-12) FT (9-15).
LaGRANGE–Edwards 10, Melanson 6, Lamonte Jenkins 6, Aaron Sam 4, Justin Spruel 2. Team: FG (12-49) 3pt (2-18) FT (2-6).