LAKE CHARLES — If there were such a thing as an actual district crown, the Riverside Academy Rebels won it Wednesday night. Now they’re ready to put a jewel in it.

Riverside (29-5), the three-time defending Class 2A state champion and winner of five of the last six titles, will go for its fourth in a row at 4 p.m. today at McNeese State’s Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles. It will be Riverside’s seventh straight trip to the final game of the season.

The Rebels will play No. 1 seed Madison Prep, last year’s Class 1A state champion. The Chargers (29-4) advanced to Saturday’s final with a 66-56 double overtime win over No. 4 seed North Caddo on Thursday. Neither team faced Riverside this season, but North Caddo lost to the Rebels in last year’s Class 2A semifinal.

“It doesn’t matter who we play,” Riverside coach Timmy Byrd said before his opponent had been determined. “We’ll be prepared.”

The Rebels will likely focus on stopping 6-foot-4 guard Joshua Anderson, who scored 27 points in Thursday night’s win. Joshua LeBlanc scored 13, including a game-sealing dunk in the final minute of the second overtime. Marquis Browder scored 11.

The Chargers shot 52 percent from the field, but showed they aren’t a long-range team like the Rebels, who are known for their 3-point shooting. Madison Prep was 4 of 11 from 3-point range.

While earning its spot in the final on Wednesday, Riverside settled any doubt as to which team was the best in District 12-2A. On Jan. 22, Country Day planted the first seed of doubt when it took a 63-56 victory over Riverside, despite being without its best player Romin Williams.

On Feb. 8, Riverside began to erase that doubt by taking an 81-66 win.

Riverside wiped the board in the rubber-match on Wednesday. Malik Crowfield handled the first half, and Jared Butler took over the second to give the Rebels a decisive 71-52 victory.

Crowfield led the Rebels with 24 points, scoring 12 in each half and hitting three 3-pointers. He also had 10 rebounds.

Butler, who had six points in the first half, stepped up his game in the second to finish with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. He also had eight rebounds.

Herb McGee scored 12 points and collected nine rebounds.

The Rebels finished with 10 3-pointers.

“I’m not pleased with the number of fouls we had in the first half away from the ball, but other than that I’m pleased,” Byrd said. “We played with enthusiasm. I’m pleased with how we guarded them.”

Williams led all scorers with 36 points and was the only Cajuns player to reach double figures. Michael Corchiani, who was largely responsible for the Cajuns’ win against Riverside in January, was held to eight points. As a team, Country Day shot a woeful 30.2 percent from the field, while Riverside hit 50.1 percent overall and 45.5 percent from 3-point range.

“The main thing is we didn’t want Corchiani to have a big game,” Byrd said. “We didn’t just let Williams have his day. He had a great game, but we didn’t want Corchiani to have one. I think we guarded him well.”

Often overlooked by its superb shooting skills, Riverside’s defense shined on Wednesday, forcing the Cajuns to turn the ball over 16 times.

“Our defense has been underrated for the last 10 years,” Byrd said. “Our offense is just so good, it overshadows.”

Country Day fought for a while, however. After letting Riverside take a 23-11 lead in the first quarter, the Cajuns picked up steam early in the second. Forcing turnovers and quick shots by the Rebels, Country Day went on an 11-1 run to cut the lead to 24-22. The Rebels were held without a basket until the 5:33 mark of the quarter when Crowfield put in a layup and was fouled to make it 27-22.

Williams would score one more basket in the quarter to cut the lead to 27-25.

The Cajuns would never get any closer than that.

Riverside opened up the third quarter with a pair of 3-pointers, one by Crowfield and one by Butler to start its stretch. At the 4:10 mark, McGee hit a 3-pointer to give Riverside a 42-28 lead.

While the Rebels will be going for their sixth state championship since 2010, Byrd will be going for his 13th. He won seven state championships as coach of the Reserve Christian Eagles from 2002 to 2009, when the school closed — three in Class B and four in Class C.

“No, it doesn’t get old,” Byrd said. “It’s new kids every year. I enjoy watching how each team works hard and sacrifices to get there. If it was just about me, it would get old, but it’s all about the kids.”