The sophomore-laden Red Devils held a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans patiently fought back to cut the lead to one point with a little over five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans then turned to its senior leader Jason Scott, and he responded with two baskets to give Ferriday a 50-47 lead with 2:15 left in the contest.

&uot;I thought the fourth quarter was going to be very good for us because of our experience,&uot; Ferriday coach James Davis said. &uot;We stayed patient even when we got behind by seven points early in the fourth quarter.

&uot;I figured our experience would be a factor because we’ve been in this situation a lot this year. I just have to give Port Barre a lot of credit. They’re young, but they’re good. They’ll be back next year and be even better.&uot;

The Devils, who will return all five starters next year, finished the season 23-7. Ferriday (22-11) will take on the West St. John-Jackson winner in the quarterfinals.

&uot;We’ve had a great season and we’ll be good again next year, but that’s not what the players are thinking about right now,&uot; Port Barre coach Charles Vidrine said. &uot;This loss really hurts. It was a good game, though. I thought it was a game between two evenly matched teams and it came down to the end. They just made the plays.&uot;

Ferriday actually jumped out to a big lead in the first few minutes of the contest, and it started with a bang. Off the tip, Ferriday’s Scott raced past the Port Barre defense for a thunderous dunk.

Scott’s dunk ignited a 13-3 Trojan run as Ferriday held a 10-point lead with 4:56 left in the first period.

But the Trojans went scoreless the rest of the period as the Devils climbed back into the contest with a 12-0 run to take a 15-13 lead at the end of the first period.

The teams matched each other in the second period, with Ferriday getting a 3-pointer by LaKendric Nix to go into the locker room with a 29-27 halftime advantage.

Scott led the Trojans with 16 points. Nix added 12 points and Williams finished with 8 points.