Bari celebrates 100th win at LSUE

By Tom Dodge
sportsenews@bellsouth.net

It passed without fanfare and a parade and that was just fine with the head coach.
LSU at Eunice head basketball coach Michael Bari recorded win No. 100 last Thursday when the Lady Bengals earned a 81-69 win over Delgado Community College.
“I don’t think much about the wins,” he said of reaching the century mark. “The significance of it is to average 20 wins a season for five years.
“That shows consistency of the program and that is what I am proud of.”
The Lady Bengals entered Saturday’s game against Angelina Community College with an overall record of 17-9 just a few away from the coveted 20-win mark.
“We went 7-1 when I first started,” Bari reflected on his beginning at LSUE including the season-opening win over Southern of Shreveport.
“You have to have to have good players to win,” Bari said crediting the Lady Bengals talent for his success at LSUE.
Bari set a new school record for wins in his first year at LSUE as the Lady Bengals went 19-13 in 2004-05.
The Lady Bengals also won their first round district playoff game against Johnson County Community College 57-53. LSUE fell short of a NJCAA Division II National Tournament bid with a loss to North Arkansas Community College 95-92.
After a 15-15 finish in his second season, Bari directed the Lady Bengals to a 28-6 finish in 2006-07, the best record at LSUE.
The Lady Bengals downed Redlands (75-65) and Johnson County (84-81) to advance to the national tournament and finished fourth in the country after beating Potomac State (85-67).
LSUE went 22-9 in 2007-08 and was ranked fifth in the polls as they made it to the district finals.
Bari, 110-68 for his career, spent one season at Alderson-Broaddus College in Phillipi, West Virginia.
As the head women’s basketball coach, Bari led the Battlers to a 10-17 record in his only season and a WVIAC Tournament berth.