Playing without a few of their regulars for the past couple of weeks finally caught up with the Westgate Tigers.

Ouachita rallied from a double-digit deficit to take the lead against the fifth-seeded Tigers at the third-quarter buzzer, then spread the floor and forced WHS to chase the ball for much of the fourth quarter on the way to a 71-65 regional playoff win Tuesday at the Westgate Coliseum.

The loss was a disappointing one for the defending Class 5A state champions.

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“It was too disappointing,” said WHS senior Jamal Spencer. “But it wasn’t mistakes we made on the floor. The missing players. That was the key.”

“It hurts,” said Westgate coach Oliver Winston. “We lost. It’s never easy to lose. But I’m proud of their effort.”

Westgate missed the depth that players like Raymon Jones, out for Tuesday’s game, and Deon Anthony and Fred Joseph, who did not play at all during the postseason, provided during the regular season, said Winston.

“Playing shorthanded the last couple of weeks has kind of caught up with us at the end,” said Winston. “We just didn’t have fresh legs to do the traps and things we normally do.”

The lack of fresh legs also showed at the free throw line. Westgate missed eight free throws in the third quarter and went 0-for-5 in the fourth quarter from the line, points that proved crucial.

“Eight missed free throws,” said Winston. “That really stopped our momentum. That stopped us offensively.”

Prior to that, the Tigers were in control for much of the game, forcing Ouachita into multiple fouls and taking an early double-digit lead with a 10-1 run midway through the first quarter.

The Lions (22-13) answered with a 9-1 run of their own to pull to within 19-16 on a 3-pointer by Nick Haywood in the first half-minute of the second period, but Westgate opened its lead up to 9 points on a long 3-pointer by senior Kevin Eaglin with 5:47 left in the half. Westgate kept the lead close to 9 points the rest of the second quarter and was ahead 47-38 at intermission on a basket at the buzzer by Diontae Spencer following a pass from Eaglin.

Two 3-point plays by Eaglin �” three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point try and a basket and free throw 30 seconds later �” pushed the Tigers’ lead to 10 points, 55-45, with 5:41 to go in the third period.

Eaglin led the Tigers (24-8) with 26 points, hitting three of the Tigers’ four 3-point baskets. Spencer added 10 points and seven rebounds, and Tyrunn Walker had 8 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Three Ouachita players each picked up their fourth foul during the third quarter, but Westgate scored only one more basket in the quarter after going up 10, and missed six straight free throws down the stretch. That allowed Ouachita to close the period with a 12-0 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from the corner by Jeremie Mitchell that gave the Lions their first lead since being ahead 6-4 with just over 51⁄2 minutes to go in the opening period.

“In that third quarter some of our starters got in foul trouble,” said OHS coach Casey Jones. “A couple of games came in and played well.

“They are more defensive subs than scoring players but they played well.

“Our strategy coming out was to try to get it under 3, under 2 at the end of the third quarter.”

Once they did that, the Lions spread the floor and forced WHS to chase the ball in the fourth period. Ouachita took a 62-57 lead with 7:07 remaining, and despite two OHS turnovers, Westgate didn’t score in the fourth quarter until the 2:53 mark on a putback by Walker.

“I thought our guards did a great job toward the end,” said Jones. “At one point we ran a minute off the clock. We made Westgate chase a little bit, and they got tired. And we made free throws at the end to beat a good basketball team.”

A 3-point play by Antonio Landers made it a 65-59 game with 2:44 to go. Eaglin scored 4 straight points to keep the Tigers close at 67-63 with just under two minutes remaining, but Ouachita hit four of seven free throws in the final 55 seconds to pull out the win.

Landers led the Lions with 17 points and six rebounds. Haywood scored 14 and Mitchell added 13, with Haywood hitting two 3-pointers and Mitchell sinking three.

Jacoby Colbert scored 7 and Diontae Spencer had 6 for Westgate. Lellande Davis and Josh Boutte scored 4 each to round out the scoring.

“The young kids played hard,” said Winston. “Tre had a great game.”

In the quarterfinals, Ouachita plays host to H.L. Bourgeois, which beat fourth-seeded St. Thomas More 57-56 on a layup at the buzzer Tuesday.