Take it from somebody who ought to know &045; there’s a good chance there hasn’t been that much excitement at Cathedral’s Roy Garcia Gym in quite some time.

That’s because, as Garcia said Friday, the Green Wave had never made the finals of the division tournament up until Friday night. Playing in its home gym, the Green Wave netted two big wins before falling in the finals of the Region 7-1A tournament to Bogue Chitto.

Not bad for a team that didn’t have an impressive record coming in or much tradition to back up on.

&uot;I’m proud as I can be for them to get this far,&uot; said Cathedral second-year head coach Bobby Holder, the longtime assistant at Natchez High under Mike Martin. &uot;I’ve had people comment to me this is the kind of enthusiasm and excitement you need. As a coach or player, win, lose or draw &045; that’s what you live for. It’s great for the school and great for the kids.&uot;

Even despite the loss on Friday to a tough Bogue Chitto team, the Green Wave battled for 2 1/2 quarters and didn’t let it get out of hand. The game had plenty of high points, and it was the culmination of a week of excitement from the start.

The Green Wave &045; the team you hear perhaps the least about among boys basketball in the Miss-Lou &045; took stunning wins over St. Aloysius and top-seeded West Lincoln to get to the finals.

&uot;I’ve got a lot of respect for their coach,&uot; BC head coach Jason Kennedy said. &uot;They’re just so fundamentally sound and very sound offensively. They have a lot of class, and it goes back to the coach.&uot;

Things really came together at the right time for the Green Wave, who had surprising wins over Mississippi School for the Deaf and West Lincoln during the regular season but dropped both against St. Aloysius.

Its up-and-down campaign didn’t leave folks expecting a whole lot out of the Green Wave in the tournament, although you’ve got to respect a team playing on its home floor during the division tournament.

With Jonathan Jackson and Turner Smith playing hard on the boards and outside shooting from Matt Goss and Russell Barmer, the Green Wave turned heads in a hurry to not only get in the playoffs but host a first-round game against Union.

&uot;I don’t have anything negative to say about our players and what they accomplished this week,&uot; Holder said. &uot;I’m proud as I can be for them to get this far. Before this tournament started, we were a 10-16 team, and we beat the No. 1 team three times this year. That’s pretty good for a team that lost 16 games this year.&uot;

But Tuesday’s win over St. Al was what really turned things around. That win locked up at least a playoff spot and started packing the gym as the tournament progressed.

&uot;I hope this will get Cathedral and the students a little bit of excited about basketball,&uot; Holder said. &uot;There are some kids that could be playing right now on campus. They’re playing other sports, but they could make us a little better. But I’m not complaining at all. These kids have laid it all on the line.&uot;

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. Reach him at (601) 445-3632 or at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.