'Jacks rally to defeat South Beauregard

South Beauregard had Patterson on the ropes in Friday’s Class 3A Bi-District playoff game at Patterson.
With just more than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Lumberjacks trailed by seven points.
After a timeout, the ’Jacks’ (17-10) came out trapping and pulled out a thrilling 56-51 win to advance to Tuesday’s second round.
“We talked all week about how these guys play really hard and that we had to match that and go beyond it,” Patterson Coach Ryan Taylor said. “In the second half, we went into that desperation mode, and we took some chances and they happened to work for us. We went to the trap, but I knew that could backfire because they shoot the ball so well.”
The pressure got South Beauregard (18-14) out of its game, and Patterson guard Elijah Williams scored four points from the free-throw line to tie the game at 46 with just 1:41 remaining.
Kai Schexnayder got a steal on South Beauregard’s next possession, and Williams’ scored a layup to give Patterson its first lead of the game, 48-46, with 1:25 left.
The scrappy Knights didn’t go away, however, turning the game into a free-throw shooting contest, but Patterson made enough free-throws to secure the win.
“They played very hard, and when you play well-coached teams, they keep coming at you,” Taylor said. “Our guys battled their size on the boards all night, but we were able to get enough defensive rebounds, and thank goodness their threes weren’t falling late in the game.”
Early on, South Beauregard led 13-11 after a quarter and 25-20 at halftime.
Patterson outscored South Beauregard 14-9 in the third quarter, and the teams entered the fourth tied at 34.
Williams, one of three Patterson scorers in double figures, led the squad with 22 points. Other Patterson scorers were Schexnayder with 17; Dajon Richard, 10; Louis Jones, three; and Irvin Celestine and Tyrone Tillman, two each.
Patterson advances to face Class 3A’s second-round squad, Peabody, Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Alexandria. Peabody beat No. 31 Iowa 110-37 to advance to the second round.