Two weeks ago, it took overtime to decide the rivalry game between the Sulphur and Sam Houston high school boys basketball teams.

The rivalry will only intensify today when they open District 3-5A play at Sulphur High School.

The doubleheader will start at 6 p.m. with the girls game followed by the boys game.

On their home court on Jan. 17, Sam Houston (10-12) was clinging to a four-point lead with less than a minute left. They tried to hold on to the ball and take only sure shots or get to the free throw line, but the Tors (22-4) forced a turnover to cut the Broncos’ lead to two and eventually forced overtime. Sulphur won 48-42, ending the Bronco’s season-best four-game win streak.

“It’s the conversation that we’ve had with the players and talking over that situation about how can we handle it differently in the future to be able to close that game out,” Sam Houston head coach Jayce Hebert said. “I felt like we had a really good game plan. I felt like we executed it extremely well. We just didn’t close it out how we wanted to.

“I think if we’re in that situation again, I think we’ll have a different outcome. Or hopefully we’ll put ourselves in a position to get to the free throw line to try to close it out. I feel confident that there are some adjustments we’ve got to make.”

If faced with the same situation again, Sulphur head coach Adam Coleman said he hopes his team will have the same no-quit attitude they had the first time they played the Broncos. The Tors have won six consecutive games since an overtime loss to Jennings, their lone home loss.

“We were down, but there was really never any panic in our kids,” Coleman said. “They had a great crowd, great atmosphere, and our kids were able to stay focused.

“We expect it to be another great game, another hard-fought game here at our place.”

The Tors hope to rely on their defense to open district with a win and lead the way to their first district championship since 2010. The Tors are 15-0 when they hold teams to 40 points or fewer.

“We’ve been defending well,” Coleman said. “We held Sam Houston to their lowest point total of the season.

“We held Barbe to 33 points. It begins on the defensive end of the floor. I think we have five individuals on the floor at all times that are bought into what we’re trying to accomplish as a unit defensively and just making it really difficult for our opponents.”

District 3-3A Boys

Jennings at LCCP: Lake Charles College Prep is the front-runner. The Trailblazers have won nine of their last 11 games and sit at No. 5 in the Select Division II power ratings and their district opener will not be easy.

Jennings (10-12) has knocked off two top-10 teams, Sulphur and Pitkin, and beat last year’s Non-select Division II runner-up Iowa.

District 4-1A Boys

Hamilton at Grand Lake: The Warriors and Hornets breezed through their district openers on Tuesday and will face off today for early control of the district race.

Hamilton beat Oberlin 78-32, and Grand Lake (12-8, 1-0) downed Basile 53-16.

Hamilton Christian (11-5, 1-0) has won 23 consecutive district games and three consecutive district championships.

The Warriors average almost 60 points a game led by senior Seth Ned (20.1 ppg).

District 5-2A Girls

Kinder at Oakdale: The Yellow Jackets and Warriors will renew their rivalry today at Oakdale High School.

The teams played in the same district from the 2019-2020 season to 2021-2022. Last summer’s district realignment brought them back together.

Kinder (17-6, 3-0) won seven of the last eight games in the series. They had a nine-game winning streak until Tuesday when they lost to 2024 Non-select Division II runner-up South Beauregard.

Oakdale(18-5, 2-0) has won 13 of its last 14 games and is the No. 2 team in the Non-select Division III power ratings, while Kinder is No. 7.