LAFAYETTE, La. — As the fourth quarter was about to start in the Class 2A state final, St. Thomas Aquinas guard Zeveral Jackson was making noise in the Falcons’ huddle.

“He kept saying, ‘Coach, I’m ready, I want it, I’m ready,’” STA coach Errol Gauff said.

Jackson got it and scored the Falcons’ first seven points of the quarter, helping lead them to their second straight 2A title with a 61-52 win over Ferriday on Saturday.

Ferriday had cut the STA lead to 39-38 at the end of the third quarter.

His first four points came on layups, but with 4:58 left in the game, Jackson drilled a 3-pointer to give the Falcons a 46-40 cushion. And it held up.

“It was like someone stuck a pin in our balloon and the momentum just went the other way,” Ferriday coach K.G. Watkins said. “It’s like I was watching it in slow motion and there was nothing I could do about it.”

The Trojans never came closer than that six-point margin the rest of the way.

Ferriday, which hadn’t lost a game since mid-December, also had a 22-game winning streak snapped. The Trojans, the No. 6 seed, finished with a 28-8 record. However, this was not the way the five seniors on this year’s team wanted to go out.

“It was very disappointing,” Watkins said. “We’ll be very young (next season). We’re going to be competitive. We have three juniors who will be seniors. If we can find some holes to fill, maybe we’ll get back here.”

A big factor for the Falcons’ victory were points off turnovers. STA turned 21 FHS turnovers into 23 points, while the Trojans were only able score nine points off 12 Falcon giveaways.

“It was a fast-paced game and their point guards played well,” Ferriday’s Montrell Tennessee said. “They just beat us up and down the floor.

“We tried to get it in to our post players, but there was too much pressure and we turned it over.²

Watkins said guard play was the difference in the game.

“We just got outplayed tonight at the guard position. Their guards played better than ours did on both ends of the court all night,” Watkins said. “They got to the frontcourt before we could.”

Gauff gave most of the defensive credit to senior Stephen Burches, who finished with two steals.

³It¹s amazing what little credit Stephen Burches gets. We advanced through the playoffs because of Stephen Burches,² Gauff said.

Burches talked about his commitment to defense.

³It¹s something I learned watching my cousins, trying to steal the ball with

a wrap around,² Burches said. ³I tried it in practice a few times and that¹s how I got the nickname Pick Pocket.²

The speed of the Falcons defense was a huge factor in the game, Watkins said.

“They were fast. They were quick. We knew they were quick,” Watkins said. “We just couldn’t get in transition like we should have.”

Thaddeus Showers was named the MVP. Showers finished with 19 points — hitting 8-of-9 crucial free throws — and four rebounds.

STA jumped out to an early 15-8 lead in the first quarter, but Ferriday clawed back to make it 15-12 after the opening eight minutes.

The Falcons¹ leading scorer, Raymone Andrews, was in foul trouble in the first half, and didn¹t score a single point.

³It was very frustrating for me, but my teammates were able to pick it up,²Andrews said. ³I just cheered them on and they made some good plays.²

With Andrews on the bench, Burches and Showers stepped up, scoring 15 of the Falcons¹ 29 points at half. Once again it was Ferriday finishing the quarter strong, scoring the last seven points to make it a 29-25 game at half.

Senior forward Montrell Tennessee led Ferriday with 17 points while senior guards Alrion McKeel and Matthew Smith finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.