Warriors' losing streak comes to an end

Warriors’ losing streak comes to an end
Oakdale’s seven game losing streak came to an end Friday night on the campus of Louisiana College as Dustin Howard’s Warriors defeated University Academy 50-47.
The losing streak came full circle as it began on January 11 with an overtime loss at Bunkie after a home win against University Academy the night before. The games in back-to-back nights was due to the regularly scheduled game at Bunkie being postponed the week before because of the weather.
The streak included 25-plus point losses on the road at Rapides and at Pickering and home losses against Many, Menard, Rosepine, and Bunkie. The Warriors were competitve in the home losses but came up just short in the end. Howard, the head coach, summed up the home losses when he described the loss Menard loss. “We lost another close one,” he said. “We played well just couldn’t quite finish them off.”
"Bunkie is a very scrappy team that plays very physical. This game was back and forth the entire way, but Bunkie was able to make a run late in the game that was the difference,” said Howard about the home loss to Bunkie Tuesday night. "We were without one of our key ball handlers and that hurt us. Not to mention we missed enough free throws to win the game. Bunkie is a team that makes you play ugly, and we couldn't quite get it done tonight. "
The win that the Warriors were searching for came on a court well familiar to Howard. "Coaching again at H.O. West brought back a lot of great memories from my days as Women's Basketball coach at East Texas Baptist University,” he said. “We definitely had some wars on that court. Probably the best basketball environment playing a night game in H.O. West."
Howard coached his team to the 50-47 win against University Academy. Leading the way again in scoring was Raymond Guillory with 26-points. Oakdale enjoyed an 11-point lead before half, but the Lions closed the gap. That is when Howard made a necessary adjustment.
"We switched to a new half court defense we have been working on, and Nick Davis got a steal and threw it ahead to Raymond Guillory for a two handed dunk that energized our defense,” the coach said. “We made a run during that time and we finished them off. "
The win comes at a big time for the Warriors as they host Rapides and then travel to Many and Menard to close out the regular season. “This was a win our young team needed,” Howard said. “We need to carry this momentum into the last three games and playoffs. Once you get into the playoffs anything can happen on any given night. We will be a dangerous team. At least that's the plan.”
“Better times ahead for us,” promised Howard.