Written by Kyle Valdez Entering last Tuesday night’s game, H.L. Bourgeois carried a 7-game win streak and a tie for the District 7-5A lead with Hahnville. A win over Thibodaux High at “The Jungle” would give them a share of the district championship and a chance to secure a home playoff game as they are sitting at the #16 seed in Class 5A. Thibodaux entered the contest on a 2-game skid and seeded #27 in the latest LHSAA rankings release. A win over the Braves would guarantee a playoff spot and inject confidence into the squad heading into the district finale against East St. John and the playoffs. Despite the two teams’ seasons evolving in different directions, a cross-town rivalry game like this is bound to be competitive regardless of the past. Kyren Lacy ultimately led the Tigers to victory behind 26 points, 13 boards, three blocks, and two steals. J’Mari Carter played just as big of a role by contributing 16 points, seven boards, and playing tight defense on Deondre Buggage. Factoring in Carter’s strong defensive pressure all night, Buggage still managed to find enough space on the perimeter to knock down seven three’s for 23 points. When the final buzzer sounded, Thibodaux outlasted HLB in a tightly contested 66-60 match. The game was tight throughout as HLB held an early 17-12 after the first 8 minutes of play behind Demarcus Singleton’s 10 first-quarter points. After the sluggish scoring first quarter for Thibodaux, Kyren Lacy found his groove in the second quarter, putting up 10 points on multiple transition buckets and two triples. Thibodaux ended up outscoring the opposition 16-10 in the period to take a 1-point lead into halftime. Entering halftime, it was apparent that the contest was shaping up to be a close game– something Thibodaux has struggled to finish all year. Throughout the season, 10 of Thibodaux's 13 losses have been by 7 points or less - and four games by one possession. When asked about his team’s approach to the game, Lacy responded, “This is what we’ve been talking about for the past two weeks – finishing the game. All we talk about is finishing the game. After we finish practice, that’s our main focus.” By the end of the contest, Thibodaux managed to flip the switch and survive a late-game scare. To begin the second half, the teams tied each other at 16 points apiece, resulting in Thibodaux taking the slim 45-44 lead into the final 8 minutes. Both teams exchanged big buckets in the quarter, but Thibodaux always remained a step ahead, courtesy of two three-pointers by Kyren Lacy to open up a 7-point Tiger lead. Tyren Young came up with multiple clutch baskets to protect the lead, including a crucial three-point play in transition, halting HL’s comeback. Thibodaux eventually opened up their biggest lead of the game at 9 with three minutes left in the game. With HL running out of options, Buggage knocked down two three-pointers in the final 90 seconds of play. Despite closing the gap, J’Mari Carter knocked down his free throws - 6/6 in the fourth quarter - to seal the Tiger's win. Thibodaux took care of business against East St. John in their last game of the regular season & will go into the playoffs as the number 23 seed. The Tigers will travel to the number 10 seed Hahnville this Friday for the first round of the playoffs. H.L Bourgeois got wins over Chalmette & E.D White in their last two games of the regular season. The Braves go into the playoffs as the number 16 seed & will host East Jefferson this Friday for the first round of the playoffs.
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After 23 years as an assistant coach, Archie Adams gets his chance to lead his alma mater as a head coach. Adams served as South Terrebonne’s defensive coordinator the last 3 seasons which made the 47-year old more comfortable about taking on this new challenge. “I have been blessed to have played for & coach under Richard Curlin which has taught me a lot of the years,” Adams said. “I just want to continue the tradition he built & keep state wide respected program. I feel I’ve learned enough on every level to lead this program.” South Terrebonne has been a pretty consistent program for the most part during Richard Curlin’s tenure & Adams expressed that he has a plan in place to get this program to new heights. “We will buy into the weights program for sure,” Adams said. “Historically we don’t have a lot of size here so getting stronger & faster is a must so we can make a playoff push. Our younger coaches Justin Lirette, Mike Barba, & Caleb White are doing a great job with our weights program to get our kids where we need to.” Adams will have some decisions to make going forward especially figuring out if the Gators will continue running a wing-t on offense. Soon to be junior quarterback Christian Arceneaux looks like a stud in the making & would really benefit if Adams decides to move from the wing-t. “We are in the process of making a few changes on offense that compliments our talents at quarterback & other positions,” Adams said. “We still need to add a position or 2 to the coaching staff as well & I will know more as the school year progresses.” With so much turnover with head coaches in the Tri-Parish area, Adams understands what it takes to have a longevity with one program. “South Terrebonne is a community school,” he said. “This community loves to win, but as long as I run a honest competitive program that graduates responsible young men they may keep me around for a while.” Side note : Adams beat out 8 other applicants that applied for the head coaching position. Written by Kyle Valdez H.L. Bourgeois guard Deondre Buggage knocked down six three-pointers in the first half to give his team a 42-32 lead over Hahnville. With the district lead on the line and Hahnville coming back stunningly, Buggage put the team’s scoring responsibilities on his back and led the Braves to a 77-72 win. The HL guard has always been known as a threat from deep, but Thursday night’s game sticks out as one of the most impressive shooting performances in recent memory from the bayou area. Buggage showed off supreme confidence, matched with the accuracy of a sniper to finish the night with 38 points: 8 three-pointers and 8-8 from the charity stripe. It was nearly impossible to contain Buggage as he was pulling shots from nearly six feet beyond the arc at times and attacking the rim other possessions. Despite his huge night, Hahnville hung around all game and came up just short of stealing the game from the Braves’ grasp. Big man Kaden Pierre led Hahnville with 25 points by finishing off multiple dunks and tip-ins around the rim. Tyren Lebeauf added 21 points, hitting 4 threes. Takarin Grows and Claudell Harris contributed 9 points and 10 points, respectively. HLB’s freshman Demarcus Singleton gave the Braves an early boost, totaling 10 points in the first quarter to lead the Braves to a 21-12 lead after the first period. HL continued their offensive flow in the second quarter, outscoring the opposition 21-20 – taking a 42-32 lead into intermission. Although Hahnville trailed by 15 midway through the 2nd quarter, they were limited by their disability to hit open jump shots. They crashed the boards, resulting in multiple second chance looks, but simply couldn’t put the ball in the hole. Both squads failed to get back on defense, resulting in easy baskets for the opposition. To open the half, Hahnville immediately cut the gap to 5 and hung around during the 3rd quarter. The Tigers did a better job with ball-denial on Buggage, holding him to just 4 points in the quarter. However, Buggage couldn’t be kept quiet for too long. In the fourth quarter, Buggage went off for 16 points and headlined an entertaining quarter of basketball. Hahnville got their first lead with 2:30 after a Claudell Harris 3-pointer. Buggage responded by knocking down two free throws on the other end, giving HL the final lead change of the contest. Claudell Harris and Tyren Lebeauf knocked down multiple clutch shots to keep Hahnville a step behind the Braves, but Buggage had the answer every time - whether it was knocking down free throws or attacking the rim in transition. When the final buzzer sounded, the home team had the 77-72 advantage. The win for HLB gives them at least a share of the district title with Hahnville in the ultra-competitive District 7-5A. Before the Braves can take a breath, their district finale is against a tough assignment in Thibodaux High. HLB, currently ranked #17 in Class 5A, continues to boost their seeding. The final week of the season should be very interesting for the Braves to see whether they can bump themselves up a few spots to guarantee home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. No matter what happens in the final week of the regular season, the Braves are still going to be a sleeper team in the 5A playoffs that can compete with anyone. Despite their lack of size, they have quality depth and one of the best scorers in the state. After a thrilling overtime victory versus Thibodaux the first time these two teams played, many thought we would be in for a thriller once again. On last Friday, Hahnville junior Claudell Harris Jr. was outstanding in the first quarter scoring 20 of his game high 29 points in that quarter. Hahnville led 34-18 at the end of the first & wouldn’t look back. Defensively & offensively Hahnville showed why they should be a team to lookout for come playoff time. At the half Hahnville led 48-30 that put Thibodaux in a huge hole going into the second half. Junior Kaden Pierre caught fire in the second half scoring 15 of his 27 points in the second half to go with 13 rebounds. Kyren Lacy led Thibodaux with 15 points & Darwin Davisfinished with 14 points. Hahnville took care of business versus Central Lafourche on Tuesday night with 66-61 win. Hahnville head coach Yussef Jasmine expressed that his team is not letting the success go to their heads. “We lost to Scotlandville by 48 points earlier in the year,” Jasmine said. “That was probably the worse lost of my career & I make sure to remind them of that.” Hahnville extended it’s winning streak to 12 games at (22-8 overall, 10-0 in district) setting up a big showdown versus H.L Bourgeois on the road Thursday night. Bourgeois is (22-6 overall, 8-1 in district) & has senior point guard Deondre Buggage leading the way who has been phenomenal all year for the Braves. Written by Kyle Valdez The Scotlandville Hornets have been on a roll all season en route to a 19-1 record against in-state Louisiana opponents. The ESPN #19 nationally ranked high school team is as battle-tested as they come, playing in the City of Palms Classic and Monteverde Classic in Florida - playing against the likes of 5-star recruits Sharife Cooper, Scottie Barnes, and Day’Ron Sharpe. Led by McDonald’s All-American nominee Reece Beekman, the Hornets are advertised as the heads-and-shoulders best team in the state. On Friday night, one of the biggest in-state tasks was set up for a tough district contest in Walker. With many storylines surrounding the highly anticipated game, the biggest was the matchups of LSU commit Jalen Cook vs. Virginia commit Reece Beekman and the frontcourt matchup of Brian Thomas vs. Jonathan Horton. Despite a packed gym in favor of Walker, Scotlandville went on a 14-0 run in the first quarter and never looked back. The Hornets dominated on the defensive end all night and were led by Tai’Reon Joseph, Reece Beekman, and Jonathan Horton. Tai’Reon “Scooter” Joseph’s explosiveness catalyzed Scotlandville’s offense by throwing down multiple dunks in transition and knocking down four triples for 26 points. Virginia commit Reece Beekman posted a double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Walker’s slow start ultimately ended up costing them the game, as both teams kept pace for the final three quarters. Walker trailed 16-2 after the first period and could only cut the lead down to 8 in the second half. Virginia football commit Jonathan Horton was the main reason for Walker’s 2 first quarter points as he disrupted every shot in the paint and crashed the boards. Horton discussed the early start and his defensive mindset, “I feel like we came out early and dominated from the jump, we put pressure on them and made them make bad decisions. My mindset is to do my job, clear the paint and make sure nobody is getting easy baskets.” Back-and-forth action between Beekman and Cook in the 2nd quarter had the gym rejuvenated, desperately encouraging the home team of coming back. However, Scotlandville always had an answer. Walker cut the lead down to 10 or 12 points numerous times in the third quarter but just couldn’t get close enough. Although the final score was 70-54, the game had its moments. Brian Thomas put together 24 points on the night, showcasing his athleticism on defense and in transition. Carvell Teasett looked impressive by adding 15 points, Tai’Reon Joseph shut down the gym with three fastbreak jams, but the main story was Scotlandville’s ability to turn offense into defense and hit the timely bucket. As the floor general, Beekman always had the answer to shut up the home crowd – making the right pass, controlling the game’s tempo, or simply taking the ball to the hoop himself. More noticeable than his efficient 8-15 FG shooting, was his level-headedness. The lack of panic, the poise, and the ability to let the game come to him was refreshing to see from a high school point guard. Beekman seems to have a bright future playing for Tony Bennet and the Virginia Cavaliers. Looking to the more near future, Scotlandville still has four more regular season games until they return to LHSAA’s Marsh Madness as the heavy favorites in the Division 1 bracket. The first half versus South Terrebonne both teams started off going back & fourth with four lead changes. The Patriots defensive intensity would turn up the last two minutes of the second quarter that led to a 6-0 run putting them up 26-20 at the half. Sophomore Dionjahe Thomas would make his presence felt big time in the third quarter scoring nine straight points for the Patriots. The Patriots’ full court zone press would give the Gators problems that led to several turnovers which converted into transition points. Ellender would go into the fourth quarter up 45-29. The fourth quarter the Patriots kept their foot on the gas extending their lead to 51-31 after a big one-handed dunk by Thomas. The Patriots would go on to win the game 58-41 to improve to (11-13 overall & 4-1 in district). The Gators fell to (15-8) overall & 2-3 in district). Dionjahe Thomas led all scorers with 24 points for the Patriots & Nykee Johnson added 10 points. Christian Arceneaux led South Terrebonne with 13 points & R.J Cox added 12 points. Ellender is currently ranked 24 in 4A & South Terrebonne sits at 19. The Patriots didn’t have a let down on Friday night at home versus Morgan City as they took care of business with a 65-45 win. Sophomore Dionjahe Thomas led all scorers with 27 points & 12 rebounds. They will be back in action on the road Tuesday night versus Vandebilt Catholic. The Mustangs are definitely one of the hottest teams in 4A winning 11 out of their last 12 games. On last week, the Mustangs won two of their district games in convincing fashion moving them up to number four in 4A. Friday they faced off against Vandebilt Catholic winning 114-40 & Damon Bailey led all scorers with 22 points for the Mustangs. Tuesday against Ellender was no different as they took care of business beating the Patriots 71-41. Early on in the game the Patriots gave the Mustangs all they could handle up 17-16 at the end of the first quarter. Both teams would be tied at 28 going into the half, but in the third quarter the Mustangs would explode outscoring the Patriots 25-5. Junior Jaden Tyler played a big part into the outpouring in the quarter connecting from downtown three times. In the fourth the Mustangs wouldn’t let it up & continued to clamp down on the Patriots to win the game pretty handily. The Patriots was held to only 13 total points in the second half. Junior Jaden Tyler led all scorers with 22 points for Assumption & Jalen Blackmon added 14 points & 12 rebounds. The Mustangs improve to 20-6 overall & 4-0 in district. They’ll take on South Lafourche Tuesday night. Sophomore Dionjahe Thomas led Ellender with 17 points. |
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