LAKE CHARLES โ Zachary and Ruston traded the lead throughout the fourth quarter.
In three minutes, the two sides switched leads six times. As the clock ticked to less than two minutes, the Broncos showed their championship pedigree.
Junior Ethan Kimmie drove to the rim and scored a layup to put his team up by one. Junior Ian Edmond then drew a foul and hit a free throw. On the ensuing possession with 1:22 left, junior Mason Newman drew a charge to give his team the ball back.
Ruston turned it over again late as Zachary made the free throws to put away a 63-60 victory at Burton Coliseum on Saturday in the Division I nonselect championship game. The win marks the Broncos' second state title in a row and eighth overall.
"When it comes to us, our resiliency," Broncos coach Jon McClinton said, "it's just something about these guys. There's no way that we're not tough and we don't come out victorious in that game."
McClinton pointed to his team's depth in helping wear down Ruston. Only three Bearcats scored, while eight Broncos found the box score.
"We want to wear you down so much that when that fourth quarter comes," McClinton said, "those legs are starting to get to you a little bit."
Edmond tied the game at 15-15 after he hit a step-back fadeaway 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer.
The Broncos sprinted out to a 12-2 surge at the start of the second quarter to take a 10-point lead. Kimmie started it with a pair of layups. Edmond and senior Kristion Brooks buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to cap the run.
Ruston's Ahmad Hudson ended the run with a pair of scores, but Zachary responded with a 3-pointer by junior Mason Newman. Ruston ripped off a 9-3 run to get within four points.
Zachary (28-2) led 34-28 at halftime after Newman grabbed a miss and converted a floater at the buzzer.
The Bearcats cut into the lead with free throws as the deficit dwindled to one during the third quarter.
Edmond cut through defenders to push the lead back to five late in the third.
With just three seconds left, Brooks stole an inbounds pass and deflected it to junior Jerry Armwood. Just past midcourt, he fired up a 3-pointer that banked in at the buzzer to put Zachary up 48-41.
Early in the fourth, Hudson drew a foul on a banked-in jumper and hit his free throw to cut the deficit to three points.
Ruston (26-4) cut the lead to just one point with a Darren Ford floater. Hudson put Ruston in front by one with a put-back layup. Broncos senior Cambren Price drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws to put Zachary back in front.
Newman went at a defender for a layup to put Zachary up by three. After one Ruston score, Hudson threw down a dunk in transition to put Ruston back up with 3:17 left.
Out of a timeout, Kimmie lost the ball, then wrestled it back and got a layup to fall as the lead switched again.
Zachary put a muzzle on the Bearcats after that to hang on for the win.
"Us just playing together," Brooks said. "It means a lot because this is more than a team. It's a family."