By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

Reserve Christian went into its final regular season game at Country Day on Monday looking for a quality win to build momentum before the postseason.

Instead, it was the Cajuns who gave prospective Class 1A playoff opponents something to think about.

In a battle of the No. 3 ranked team in Class 1A and the No. 1 team in Class C, Country Day held on to a 69-65 victory in Metairie.

Matt Derenbecker scored 33 points, including three fourth quarter 3-pointers, to lead the Cajuns to the win.

“Derenbecker got hot, and that’s what big time players do,” said Reserve coach Timmy Byrd. “He willed them to victory.”

Said Country Day coach Mike McGuire: “It’s a great measuring stick for us. Reserve’s probably a top five team in the state regardless of classification. It tells us that we can play with anyone when we play at the level we did today.”

Eddie Ludwig scored 17 and Jordan McGuire added 14 for the Cajuns (24-6).

Cedric Jenkins led RCS (39-7) with 20 points. Ed Gallina scored 15 and Ricardo Gathers scored 13.

Country Day led for much of the second half, but Reserve continually closed the gap – the Eagles led by one on three occasions in the second half.

“They don’t go away,” said coach McGuire.

The Cajuns led 31-27 at halftime, but four Eagles – Gallina, Gathers, Louis Dabney and Chris Roussell – powered an 8-2 run to begin the second half to lift RCS to a 35-34 lead.

Country Day answered with one of its biggest runs of the game. Derenbecker first scored on a layup to put his team back ahead. Then McGuire hit three 3-pointers in a row, and suddenly Reserve’s one point lead turned into a 45-36 deficit with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

“We really made a high percentage of our threes,” said coach McGuire. “Reserve is so quick, and so big. We want to go inside, but it’s tough with Gathers there.”

Country Day would push its lead to 11, but Reserve answered the Cajuns’ 12-1 run with a 10-0 run to end the third quarter. Gallina started it with a 3-pointer from the corner, and capped it with a steal and a layup with no time left.

The Eagles last lead came with less than five minutes remaining in the game, after two Gallina free throws made it 53-52. Derenbecker responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a five-point Cajun advantage.

Country Day kept its lead in the five to six point range until Reserve made its final push with two minutes left. Twice, RCS pulled within two, once on a Gallina steal and layup with 1:41 left, then on a Roussell free throw with 13.1 seconds left.

But Derenbecker drew a foul, and he sealed the win with two free throws.

A bit of controversy accompanied one call in the final minute, when Gathers drew a foul on an offensive rebound. It appeared Gathers went up for a short put back jumper, but he recieved only a one-and-one. He missed the front end, and Country Day rebounded.

“I thought it should have been two shots. But you do have to play around the officials,” said Byrd.

Reserve drew the No. 1 seed in the Class C playoffs and was scheduled to host its bi-district playoff game last night against Monticello. In Class 1A, Country Day was to host St. Martin’s.

The news of a top seed was likely little consolation to Byrd, however, who said he expected a stronger effort on Monday.

“You’ve gotta take your hat off to Country Day. They just seemed to want it more,” he said. “They just outplayed us.”