OHS, JSCLA Parish Champs
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
The J.S. Clark girls made a statement by capturing a fourth St. Landry Parish basketball championship Saturday night, while Opelousas High launched a three-point basket-inspired comeback to narrowly claim the boys title in games played at Beau Chene.
Both victories before a packed gymnasium were the first parish championships for JSCLA coach Dewaskie Fuller and OHS coach Antonio Broadway who are coaching their teams for the first time.
Northwest High won the third-place girls title by defeating North Central. Host Beau Chene beat the North Central boys for the other consolation victory.
Opelousas High 60, Northwest High 58
The victory didn’t come easily for second-seeded Opelousas, which used seven triples to help hold off No.1 seed Northwest.
Northwest raced to a 21-8 lead early in the second quarter, but the remainder of the period belonged to the Tigers, who used a 12-2 run triggered by a three, a dunk, and other points scored off a steal and turnover that put Opelousas behind by four (28-24) at the intermission.
The start of the second half was delayed for about 35 minutes as one of the goals dislodged from the backboard and required assistance to be reattached and then leveled, an issue that Northwest boys basketball coach Mark Cassimere said affected his team.
Broadway praised the Tigers’ resiliency.
“We talked about maintaining our poise, something that we didn’t show early. In the second half, we decided to slow it down with our defenses,” Broadway said.
Opelousas controlled the third period with 10 points from Tallion Rideau. However the Raiders stiffened during the final portion of the quarter to cut the lead to 46-45.
Northwest used scoring from a variety of shooters that included Markez Davis, Courtlon Young, Reginald Lavernge and Jameyon Freeman to tie the game twice during the final four minutes.
Lavergne tied it again (at 58) with a basket off a steal, but Collin Rideau sank the decisive two free throws with 26.9 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Tallion Rideau scored 23, while Collin Rideau (12) and Caden Arvie (11) were also in double figures.
Davis led the Raiders with 21, while Young scored 17.
JSCLA 42, Opelousas 34
The game between the top two girls’ seeds pivoted during the second half.
Clark outscored Opelousas 10-0 as the third quarter unfolded after taking a 21-20 halftime lead on a layup by guard Taylor Barnaba, the girls’ tournament MVP.
Opelousas, seeded No. 2, recovered early during the final quarter, as London Dorn scored 10 points along with a three-point shot that put the Tigers behind by one (34-33) with under four minutes remaining.
After that it came down to free-throw shooting.
Barnaba made all four of her free throws during the final 31 seconds, but the Tigers made only one of six attempts during the final three minutes and 24 seconds.
Fuller said the Bulldogs began establishing their own tempo as the game progressed.
“We were playing the game at a fast pace early and it was a matter of us getting under control,” said Fuller.
“This is a special group that has been together and they wanted to finish it out (Saturday night),” Fuller added.
Beau Chene 78, North Central 52
The Gators’ CJ Charlot provided the high-point night during the final four games of the tournament, providing 29 points.
Beau Chene teammates Keighan Celestine (15) and Christian Wheeler (13) aided the scoring for the Gators, now 9-7.
North Central featured significant scoring from Malachi Joseph (14) and Khalil Doucet (12), while adding 10 points each for the Hurricanes were Amarion Ewards and Sherman Smith.
Beau Chene established a solid 39-21 point lead at halftime and then held off the Hurricanes who scored 41 during the second half.
Northwest 53, North Central 39
The Raiders had little difficulty from the beginning, outscoring North Central 25-17 by the intermission.
Mariah Davenport and Carmen Joseph were the scoring leaders as both provided 10 points for North Central.
Harmony Richard of Northwest finished as the top scorer in the game (19). Raiders’ teammates Ariahn Sostand (11) and Aerial Amos (8) were next for the Raiders.
