NWHS Keeps Rolling
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
A determined fourth quarter defensive effort was the difference Friday night as the Northwest High boys’ basketball team pushed through a playoff portal which had eluded the program for the last 22 years.
Supported by a raucous crowd that crammed into the school gymnasium, the Raiders limited Plaquemine High to seven points during the final eight minutes as Northwest captured a 71-61 Quarterfinal victory that puts the program into the Division II non-select semifinal playoff round on Tuesday night.
Northwest is scheduled to meet third-seeded Brusly which defeated No. 11 Sterlington 68-41 in another Quarterfinal game on Friday night.
The contest between Northwest and Brusly is set at Lake Charles’ Burton Coliseum for 6:15 pm.
Top-seeded Wossman and No. 4 Bossier are the other teams remaining to compete for the classification championship.
Tied Not Denied
The game was tied at 54 as the fourth quarter began.
However the Raiders picked up the Green Devils with man-to-man fullcourt and halfcourt pressure, while outscoring Plaquemine 10-2 during the first 10 minutes of the period.
“We played tighter (defense) and went man-to-man and chest-to-chest,” said Northwest head boys’ basketball coach Mark Cassimere.
The boys’ basketball program playoff journey for Cassimere and Northwest has been a two and a half decade odyssey that has intertwined him and his family.
“I was a junior in high school on the Northwest team in 2004 when we played in the semifinals and my father was the principal here,” Cassimere said.
“We got to the Quarterfinals two years ago, but we finally figured it out,” said Cassimere.
Reaching the state tournament has been emotional for Cassimere, since his father, former St. Landry Parish assistant superintendent Joseph Cassimere died last month following an illness.
Cassimere said that because of health reasons, his father didn’t speak much over the past several months, but his father did tell his son “congratulations,” for reaching the playoffs.
Raiders’ guard Courthland Young said the Northwest players were determined to reach the state tournament on Mark Cassimere’s behalf.
“We had to do this for our coach. We were determined to make it for (Cassimere),” Young said.
How They Won It
Neither team had a secure grip on the lead until the final minutes.
Seventh-seeded Plaquemine led by two (19-17) at the end of the first period, but in the second quarter the Raiders raced to a 10-point advantage (36-26) as 6-foot-2 Markez Davis sent spectators into a momentary frenzy with a pair of breakaway dunks.
Dartez also added two treys to his pre-halftime scoring surge, but Plaquemine cut a nine-point Northwest lead to three at the intermission.
“He (Dartez) showed up in the big game and he got us started with his dunks. We were kind of jittery, but we kind of settled down in the second half,” Cassimere said.
The Raiders broke loose again in the third quarter with the help of five Reginald Lavergne points, but the Devils tied it during the last 29 seconds as Jakyns Jenkins scored six consecutive points that created the deadlock.
The Individuals
Jenkins led all scorers with 31 points.
The duo of Lavergne and Davis provided the Raiders with a combined 41 points.
Young scored six.
Dartez admitted the Raiders had a definite height advantage, but were other factors in play, he said.
“I don’t really think (height) was a big deal though. What mattered is we came into the season wanting to play for a championship and we have confidence we can do that,” said Dartez.
