A physical inside defensive game and a deadly outside offensive attack makes for a tough combination to overcome.

Westgate combined those two elements to near perfection Tuesday night at home against the Thibodaux Tigers in rolling to an 86-61, District 7-5A win to remain unbeaten in the Westgate Coliseum this season. The win also pulled the Tigers into a virtual first-place tie in district with H.L. Bourgeois, which lost 103-79 at Terrebonne on Tuesday. 

Kaleb Ratliff and Duval Jackson each blocked six shots, D’Nerius Antoine grabbed 11 rebounds and the Tigers hit 14 3-pointers on the night, including nine in the second half, to blow past Thibodaux.

WHS coach Oliver Winston said the presence of Ratliff and Jackson on the inside, especially blocking so many shots, set up the Tigers’ offense.

“When we were able to stonewall them at the rim, that allowed us to get our guards free to be open for shots at the other end,” said Winston.

The first period went back and forth before WHS (25-5 overall, 9-2 district) took control in the second quarter. Leading 17-16 heading into the quarter, Westgate scored the first 10 points of the quarter, including 3-pointers from Marcellus Thibodeaux and Eddie Sims, to surge to an 11-point lead by the 5:41 mark of the period. Another 3-pointer by Antoine just before halftime made it a 41-26 game.

The Tigers came out firing in the second half, with Deion Thomas hitting a couple of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the third quarter, and by the time Jonté Hypolite hit a 3 with 3:48 to go, the lead had exploded to 20 points.

“(At halftime) we talked about where we wanted to get the ball, where we thought we were going to be open,” said Winston. “We did a much better job at the point of getting the ball where it needed to be.”

The coach said Thibodaux was so concerned with Jackson and Ratliff in the post that it opened up the outside. Hitting a bunch of shots from the perimeter then opened it up inside for the Tigers.

“I think D’Nerius and Brandon (Malveaux) did a good job controlling the ball once it left the point guard,” added Winston. “I thought the seniors played well.”

Thomas led the Tigers with 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers in the second half. Hypolite added 16 points, including four 3-point shots. Antoine had 13 points, including a trey, and Sims had two 3-pointers and 12 points total. Ratliff also had seven rebounds.

“They made some shots,” said Thibodaux coach Tony Clark. “They were more physical than us. That’s what did it.”

Trevon Cole had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead THS (9-14, 3-7). Darius Coleman had 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Deon Coleman had 8 points. Jason Richard added seven rebounds for the visiting Tigers.

“You can’t just be a couple of guys (producing),” said Clark. “You have to be a team rebounding against a team like Westgate. We had a couple of guys rebounding, but the rest of guys were standing around watching. It has to be a team effort.”

Westgate travels to Abbeville on Saturday and then plays host to H.L. Bourgeois in the district finale Monday. HLB held a one-game lead in the loss column over Westgate in the district standings before its Tuesday loss. The Braves play at South Lafourche on Friday.

Westgate 31, Thibodaux 26

The Westgate Lady Tigers outscored Thibodaux 20-14 in the second half to rally for the Senior Night win, including a 10-2 edge in the third quarter.

Still, WHS coach Reggie Davis isn’t thrilled with how his team is playing.

“Too many mistakes,” said Davis. “We’re playing like a team that’s going to back into the playoffs.”

The Lady Tigers had been playing well on the road, he thought, but the last couple of games have looked like they’re taking opponents for granted after beating them in earlier district matchups.

Shayne Charles led Westgate (21-9, 9-2) with 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. 

Lisa Keovongxay and Dakaida Mitchell added 7 points each. Westgate had four 3-pointers — Keovongxay and Diamonique Curvin also had treys — to none for THS.

Eris Stove had 11 points to lead Thibodaux (7-16, 2-8). Elise Plaisance added 7.

Westgate closes out its district slate Monday at home against H.L. Bourgeois.꿠