SICILY ISLAND, La. &045; Getting ready for district &045; that’s what it was all about for the Trojans Wednesday night.

So a less than stellar performance in a 55-45 win over Newellton &045; one in which Bears’ guard Quentin Jackson forced overtime by hitting two of three free throws with .7 seconds left in regulation &045; is just part of a bigger plan.

&uot;Newellton was ready to play tonight,&uot; Ferriday head coach James Davis said. &uot;We didn’t come to play. We gave up too many easy buckets.&uot;

For Ferriday, the C.B. Coney Memorial tournament at Sicily Island is one more chance to get things together before the district season gets going in the new year.

Ferriday didn’t play particularly well, getting beat up on the boards and missing too many jumpshots, but the Trojans did manage to get a win.

But they almost found a way to lose the game when Newellton’s Quentin Jackson drove the length of the floor with 5.8 seconds remaining and heaved up an off-balance shot. He missed, but was fouled and walked to the line with a chance to win the game for the Bears. He missed the first shot but hit the next two, sending the game to extra time.

But in the overtime period the Trojans were dominant, outscoring Newellton 12-2 and running away with the win. Ferriday scored six points from the free-throw line in overtime to seal the deal.

&uot;We had a chance and didn’t take advantage,&uot; Newellton head coach Carl Washington said. &uot;But we tied the game and that’s good enough for today, I guess.&uot;

For the Bears, too, this game wasn’t nearly as important as the upcoming district season. Washington said he’s confident his team is good enough to defend its district championship again this season.

The game never should have been close enough to go to overtime. The Bears only leads in the game came in the first minute at 2-0 and in the first minute of the second half at 21-20. Ferriday took off and led until the Newellton again tied the game in the final second, but the Trojans could not amass a large lead at any point in the game.

The Bears’ inside play and a 19-point effort from Marcus Hill kept them close and in position to make a 5-1 run in the final minute to tie the game in regulation.

Throughout the game Ferriday struggled inside, where the Trojans do not have great size, and Newellton got numerous offensive rebounds for easy putbacks in the game.

The Trojans usually reliable outside shooting, particularly in the form of guard Dominique Myles, wasn’t on in the game. Myles did lead Ferriday with 16 points.

&uot;We have to establish the inside game as much as we can,&uot; Davis said. &uot;We rely on jumpshots and that leads to inconsistency. If you aren’t hitting your shots, it’s tough to win. We’re trying to get more ball movement and rotation to help that. Then we’ll be OK.&uot;

Fortunately for the Trojans, they’ll have another game Friday to get some more kinks worked out and get ready for district.