Bogalusa opened the season Tuesday night with five new starters and an experienced head coach that is in his first year with the team, so it was hard to know what to expect as the team faced a solid opponent in Mandeville.
The Lumberjacks hung tough and trailed just 31-27 through three quarters, and their biggest deficit up to that point was just seven points.
Mandeville ultimately won, 46-35, but despite the loss, Bogalusa coach Randall Ginn seemed pleased with what he saw.
“We’ve scrimmaged, we’ve jamboreed, but I didn’t really know what to expect against a quality 5A program,” Ginn said. “I’m pleased with how we battled. We’re still a little shorthanded. We didn’t play any football players, but one (Dianté) Lenoir.
“So I’ve still got some guards to get in the system and they can help us speed the game up more. I didn’t like playing that slow-down game, but I felt like that gave us the best chance to win tonight, since we were short a few men.”
Ginn said he thinks the leading returning scorer back on the team averaged only like four points a game last year.
“We were molding them like we want them to be. We don’t want to always be like that game pace-wise, but we want to be like that game effort-wise and I thought those brand new kids really battled against a well-seasoned 5A team,” he said. “(Mandeville) struggled last year because of some injuries and (its coach) got some guys back. He’s got some height. For the first time in a while, he’s got some athleticism.
“Normally he’s not quite as athletic as that. I thought we battled. We’ve got things we’ve got to clean up. We’ve got a tough tournament coming up at Lakeshore (next week). We play Lakeshore, Northshore and Chalmette, so we’ve got three big schools.”
The game went back-and-forth early on, as the first quarter featured four lead changes.
The offenses struggled early on, but picked up toward the end of the opening period. Bogalusa had a 4-3 lead with 2:33 left, but Mandeville’s Walker Trahant hit from beyond the arc to give the Skippers a 6-4 lead in a sequence that saw the two teams combine on three 3-pointers in three possessions. Bogalusa’s Demarcus Spikes answered quickly with a 3-pointer of his own to give the Lumberjacks their one-point lead back, but the Skippers answered once again when Jordan Gex was good from beyond the arc and Mandeville led by two.
Aaron Ousterhout connected with Will Sheppard for two more with 1:40 on the clock for an 11-7 Mandeville lead.
Bogalusa trimmed it to a field goal when Tony Harris was good for two and the Lumberjacks were down just 11-9 after one.
Mandeville opened its biggest lead of the first half at seven, which the Skippers had a few times, during the second quarter at 21-14, 23-16 and a 25-18 lead at the halftime break.
Trailing 27-20 with 3:56 left in the third period, Bogalusa scored five straight points.
Braedtrick Whittine passed to Dajuan Powell for a 3-pointer to make it a four-point game at the 3:41 mark. Powell then knocked down a jumper and the lead was 27-25 with 3:11 left, but Gex ended the run with a field goal. The margin stayed at four through three quarters at 31-27.
Mandeville extended the lead to 12 with 2:07 left in the fourth quarter before going on for the 46-35 win.
Seven players hit the scoring column for the Lumberjacks, led by Powell, who tallied 13 points that included two 3-pointers.
Spikes posted seven with a 3-pointer, while Shelton Stewart and Whittine put up four each. Chance Turner had a 3-pointer and Lenoir and Tony Harris added two points each.
Bogalusa will be back in action Monday through Wednesday, in the Titans Thanksgiving Classic at Lakeshore.
The Lumberjacks play Lakeshore at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Northshore at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Chalmette at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Gex led Mandeville with 14 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Ousterhout put up 10 with two 3-pointers. Trahant, Dylan Hooter and Jaden Ball posted six each and Sheppart added four. Trahant knocked down a 3-pointer.