(Courtesy of the Jackson Parish Journal) – The Saline Bobcats entered the annual Neil Kilgore Tournament hosted by Cedar Creek High School with the worst record of any of the participating boy’s teams. They left as the victors after winning three games in three days.
On Thursday, the Bobcats played Cedar Creek in the Cedar Creek Tournament and won by one point. The final score was 48-47.
On Friday, the Bobcats played Haynesville in the tournament and won, 48-40.
On Saturday, the Bobcats played Calvin in the tournament and won, 48-41.
The tournament victory climaxed what has turned out the most productive six day period for Bobcat basketball since before head coach Klint Robinson took over the program nearly a decade ago and saw Saline go from 1-9 to 6-9. To find a time frame of victories comparable you would have to go all the way back to the 1990’s when Saline played a game seemingly every day and routinely won 50 55 games in a season. The only recent time that likens to Saline winning five games in six days was in 2017 when the Bobcats won the same amount in 7 days.
What makes the run of victories even more impressive is that they have come after starting the season by losing nine of their first ten games. While the tournament victory and now five-game winning streak may be surprising to some, head coach Klint Robinson is not one of them, citing that they way the team responded in practices during the Thanksgiving Holiday break that his squad was on the verge of turning the corner.
“We had been giving up a lot of points before the break but in our first game back which was against Arcadia in the Bienville Parish Tournament last weekend our guys really got after it,” said Robinson. “We didn’t win that one but they executed our full-court press better and that has carried over this week.”
Saline 48 Cedar Creek 47: (boys) The strategy to force Saline to the charity stripe seemed to be a good one in the first three quarters as the Bobcats made only 9 of 24 but with the balance of the game on the line the Bobcats made 16 of 23 of the freebies. Eighth grader, Gavon Dailey, hit 7 of 9 free throws down the stretch, Wesley Crawford was a perfect 4 for 4, Shawn Staggs sank 3 of 4 and Will Dyson made both of his on the night the Bobcats were sent to the line an amazing 45 times. The production offset five three-pointers, including three in the final frame by Davis Walsworth, who led the 3-3 Cougars with 21 points.
(SHS Scoring) Dailey 13, Crwaford 12, Staggs 11, Dison 7, Rager-Radley 4, Williams 2 (CCHS Scoring) Walsworth 21, Osborne 11, Norris 6, Echols 6, Johnson 4.
Saline 48 Haynesville 40: (boys) Saline continued their suffocating defensive pressure as they held Haynesville, who was playing their first game of the year, to single digits in three of the four quarters. The Bobcats gradually built a lead over each of the first three quarters to take a 37-26 lead into the final frame as Will Dison canned three trey’s in the first half and led Saline in scoring with 15 points. D.J. Rager-Ridley finished with 13 and Gavon Dailey added 10 followed by Wesley Crawford with five, Shawn Staggs with three, and Maddox Williams with two.
(SHS Scoring) Dison 15, Rager-Ridley 13, Dailey 10, Crawford 5, Staggs 3, Williams 2.
Saline 48 Calvin 41 (boys): In the title game staged between the two smallest schools entered in the tournament, Saline broke open a one-point game at the half by limiting the defending Class C state runner-up to just one field goal the entire second half while scoring eight baskets and adding six free throws. Kenton Lee Crawford and Gavon Dailey kept Saline in it early by combining for 19 first-half points of their collective 23 points in the game. In the second half, it was Shawn Staggs and Maddox Williams who made all eight and four of their points along with Will Dyson and D.J. Rager-Ridley who added four of his six and three of five total points in the second half that kept Calvin at bay.
(SHS Scoring) Crawford 13, Dailey 11, Staggs 8, Dison 6, Reger-Ridley 5, Williams 4, Jones 2, Lard 1
Lady Bobcats
On Thursday, the Lady Bobcats played Cedar Creek in the Cedar Creek Tournament and lost, 32-59.
On Saturday, the Lady Bobcats played Lincoln Prep in the tournament and won, 41-29.
See Schedules Below.
Saline Bobcats Basketball
| Date/Time | Opponent | Home/Away | Win/Loss | Score |
| 11/1/2022 6:00 PM | Gibsland-Coleman | Home | Loss | 37-59 |
| 11/3/2022 6:45 PM | Choudrant | Away | Loss | 57-67 |
| 11/5/2022 1:45 PM | Summerfield | Away | Loss | 59-70 |
| 11/7/2022 5:00 PM | Quitman | Away | Loss | 28-48 |
| 11/10/2022 5:15 PM | Weston (Calvin Tournament) |
Away | Win | 63-29 |
| 11/11/2022 5:15 PM | Choudrant (Calvin Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 47-58 |
| 11/15/2022 7:00 PM | Lakeview | Away | Loss | 25-69 |
| 11/17/2022 7:00 PM | Haughton (Saline Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 48-66 |
| 11/19/2022 7:45 PM | Quitman (Saline Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 43-47 |
| 11/29/2022 6:00 PM | Arcadia | Away | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 12/2/2022 6:15 PM | Arcadia (Gibsland-Coleman Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 42-48 |
| 12/5/2022 | Ouachita Christian | Home | Win | 55-28 |
| 12/6/2022 7:00 PM | Castor | Home | Win | 44-41 |
| 12/8/2022 7:45 PM | Cedar Creek (Cedar Creek Tournament) |
Away | Win | 48-47 |
| 12/9/2022 7:45 PM | Haynesville (Cedar Creek Tournament) |
Away | Win | 48-40 |
| 12/10/2022 7:00 PM | Calvin | Away | Win | 48-41 |
| 12/13/2022 7:00 PM | Ringgold | Home | ||
| 12/16/2022 7:00 PM | Choudrant | Home | ||
| 12/20/2022 6:00 PM | D’Arbonne Woods Charter | Away | ||
| 1/3/2023 | Ouachita Christian | Away | ||
| 1/6/2023 6:00 PM | Cedar Creek | Away | ||
| 1/9/2023 7:00 PM | Weston | Away | ||
| 1/10/2023 7:00 PM | Atlanta | Home | ||
| 1/13/2023 7:00 PM | Dodson | Away | ||
| 1/16/2023 7:00 PM | Cedar Creek | Home | ||
| 1/17/2023 7:00 PM | Calvin | Away | ||
| 1/19/2023 5:00 PM | Quitman | Home | ||
| 1/20/2023 5:00 PM | Central – Jonesville | Home | ||
| 1/24/2023 6:00 PM | Georgetown | Away | ||
| 1/26/2023 6:00 PM | Jonesboro-Hodge | Away | ||
| 1/27/2023 7:00 PM | Dodson | Home | ||
| 1/31/2023 7:00 PM | Atlanta | Away | ||
| 2/2/2023 7:00 PM | Castor | Away | ||
| 2/3/2023 7:00 PM | Calvin | Home | ||
| 2/7/2023 5:00 PM | Central – Jonesville | Away | ||
| 2/10/2023 6:00 PM | Georgetown | Home | ||
| 2/14/2023 5:00 PM | Sterlington | Home |
Saline Lady Bobcats
| Date/Time | Opponent | Home/Away | Win/Loss | Score |
| 11/1/2022 6:00 PM | Gibsland-Coleman | Home | Loss | 16-55 |
| 11/3/2022 5:30 PM | Choudrant (Choudrant Tournament) |
Away | Winn | 53-38 |
| 11/5/2022 12:30 PM | Summerfield (Choudrant Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 38-39 |
| 11/7/2022 6:00 PM | Quitman | Away | Loss | 34-60 |
| 11/10/2022 4:00 PM | Weston (Calvin Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 35-65 |
| 11/15/2022 6:00 PM | Lakeview | Away | Loss | 29-55 |
| 11/17/2022 6:30 PM | Haughton (Saline Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 34-57 |
| 11/18/2022 4:00 PM | Ouachita Christian | Away | Loss | 43-58 |
| 11/29/2022 6:00 PM | Arcadia | Away | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 12/2/2022 5:00 PM | Arcadia (Gibsland-Coleman Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 31-47 |
| 12/5/2022 6:00 PM | Ouachita Christian | Home | Loss | 48-50 |
| 12/6/2022 6:00 PM | Castor | Home | Loss | 22-51 |
| 12/8/2022 4:00 PM | Haughton (Cedar Creek Tournament) |
Away | Loss | 32-59 |
| 12/10/2022 4:30 PM | Lincoln Preparatory School | Away | Win | 41-29 |
| 12/13/2022 6:00 PM | Ringgold | Home | ||
| 12/15/2022 6:00 PM | Doyline | Home | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 12/16/2022 6:00 PM | Choudrant | Home | ||
| 12/20/2022 6:00 PM | D’Arbonne Woods Charter | Away | ||
| 1/3/2023 6:00 PM | Ouachita Christian | Away | ||
| 1/6/2023 6:00 PM | Cedar Creek | Away | ||
| 1/9/2023 6:00 PM | Weston | Away | ||
| 1/10/2023 6:00 PM | Atlanta | Home | ||
| 1/13/2023 6:00 PM | Dodson | Away | ||
| 1/16/2023 6:00 PM | Cedar Creek | Home | ||
| 1/17/2023 5:00 PM | Calvin | Away | ||
| 1/19/2023 6:00 PM | Quitman | Home | ||
| 1/20/2023 5:00 PM | Central – Jonesville | Home | ||
| 1/24/2023 6:00 PM | Georgetown | Away | ||
| 1/26/2023 6:00 PM | Jonesboro-Hodge | Away | ||
| 1/27/2023 6:00 PM | Dodson | Home | ||
| 1/31/2023 5:00 PM | Atlanta | Away | ||
| 2/2/2023 6:00 PM | Castor | Away | ||
| 2/3/2023 5:00 PM | Calvin | Home | ||
| 2/7/2023 5:00 PM | Central – Jonesville | Away | ||
| 2/10/2023 6:00 PM | Georgetown | Home |
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