BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

RESERVE-Some may think that Reserve Christian’s home gym is off Airline at their school.

However, if the school continues to make trips to the Top 28 every year, they may start to think it is the Cajundome in Lafayette.

After a one-year hiatus, the Reserve Christian boys will return to Lafayette and the Top 28 after a 93-65 defeat of Hamilton Christian on Friday night.

The Eagles will look to secure a spot in the Class B State Championship game this afternoon when they take on Anacoco at 2:00.

Should RCS win, they would play the winner of Glenmora/Doline Saturday afternoon at 12:30

One of their closer games of the playoffs thus far, Reserve had to rely on 45 points from Tweetie Carter to come away with the victory. Kevin Branch also had a solid night with 14 points.

A relatively close game in the first half, the Eagles took a commanding lead coming out of the locker room as they outscored Hamilton Christian 25-14 in the third quarter.

Reserve Christian Head Coach Tim Byrd said he is happy his team has been able to make it back to the state semifinals.

“We are happy to be back,” Byrd said. “Our kids are excited and they have played like they wanted to go back so we are very proud of them.”

Byrd said Hamilton Christian presented one of the biggest challenges of the season for the Eagles.

“They were one of the hardest playing, best defensive teams that we have played,” Byrd said. “They played really hard, they were well coached and they had two really good guards.

“It took a really good effort by us to win by as many points as we won by. The score was not indicative of the team that we played. It took one of our best games to do that.”

Going up against a state power like Anacoco in the semifinals, Byrd said his team is ready for a extremely competitive matchup.

“They are a traditional basketball powerhouse,” Byrd said. “They are a very difficult team. They don’t have a whole lot of size, I think that their tallest guy is 6’2.

“They play extremely fundamental basketball. They block out well on both ends of the floor and they are well coached. They will be a test for us.”