CADE - The ESA boys' basketball team baffled Runnels Academy with a diamond-and-one defense early in their regional playoff game Tuesday, and by the time the Raiders got their balance back ESA had surged to what proved to be an insurmountable lead.

The Falcons (23-12) held Runnels scoreless in the first quarter, going up 11-0 with four players scoring in the opening eight minutes.

"This is the second game in a row where we came out in a defense and our opponent couldn't figure it out," said ESA coach Mike Bourgeois. "We ran a diamond-and-one on (Ryan) Litchfield. He's a two-time All-Stater and averages about 27 points a game."

Advertisement

The Falcons held Litchfield to 7 points.

"I never thought we'd be able to hold a team like that scoreless for a quarter," said Bourgeois.

Runnels made its only serious charge in the second quarter, cutting the ESA lead to 2 points with 4:33 left on a shot by Ben Young, who finished with 9 points. But the Raiders (31-11) scored only one more point in the quarter and ESA took a 17-12 lead into the half.

"I felt like in the second quarter they did a good job of making a run and we didn't handle the run well," said Bourgeois. "We were starting to force things."

In the third quarter, the Falcons abandoned the quick 3-point shots and rushed layups that allowed Runnels to close to within a bucket, and got back to the passing offense and open shots that worked so well in the opening period.

Quinn Salmon led an 11-0 run at the start of the second half, scoring the first 7 points of the third quarter and helping the Falcons build their lead to 16 points at 28-12 with 3:49 remaining in the period.

Salmon finished with 9 points, including a 3-pointer during that first run of points in the third quarter. Despite a 3-pointer by Thomas Naquin, ESA led 34-21 at the end of the third quarter. Naquin had three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 11 points.

The Raiders got no closer than 8 points after that, on a layup by Litchfield with 5:12 to go in the game.

But Alex McVeagh scored a team-high 10 points, including 6 in the fourth quarter, as the Falcons maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

Nine ESA players got into the scoring column, with Conrad Longman and Patrick Gray scoring 6 each, Wes Carleton finishing with 5, Logan Henagan and Patrick Reid scoring 4 each and Hunter Boynton and Adam Gulotta finishing with 2 apiece.

"That's how we've been all year," said Bourgeois. "We don't have anybody that's averaging in double figures. Adam Gulotta is our leading scorer with about 8 a game. Quinn Salmon, Patrick Reid and Alex McVeagh score 6 each and everybody else is at about 5. That makes it hard for teams to scout us. You never know who's going to come through."

Bourgeois said his team's unselfishness is what has gotten them to a quarterfinal date at home Friday against Pitkin.

"Playing 10 guys it's amazing the way egos never get bruised," he said. "I had two seniors who didn't get as many minutes as usual tonight, but Alex Langlinais and Patrick Reid became our biggest cheerleaders on the bench."

The ESA girls' soccer team presented the Division III state runner-up trophy to headmaster Hiram Goza at halftime of Tuesday's boys' basketball playoff game.

Two more wins would make the boys' basketball team the third ESA squad this year to make the state finals - the volleyball team also was a state finalist.

A win Friday over Pitkin gives ESA its second trip to the Top 28 Tournament in Lafayette, the first coming in 1997. No. 7 Pitkin knocked off third-ranked Hamilton Christian in overtime Tuesday.

"From what I've heard of (Pitkin), they're a pressing, scrappy team," said Bourgeois. "They like to press the whole game. We have to be able to handle the pressure.

"Tonight our gameplan was to get out and run. Friday it will have to be more to control the tempo of the game."