BOBBY ARDOIN
Contributing Writer
Pairings for the championship round of the annual St. Landry Basketball Tournament were determined before a standing room only crowd Friday night following semifinal round games for the annual tournament.
Host and top seed Beau Chene moved into the Saturday night boys’ finals against No. 2 North Central. In the girls’ bracket top-ranked North Central and third seeded Northwest qualified for the title game which will precede the boys’ championship.
BOYS GAMES
Beau Chene 78, Northwest 69
Northwest enjoyed an early lead until the first part of the second quarter when Beau Chene guard Devondrake Arvie scored six of eight unanswered Gators’ points.
Northwest meanwhile experienced inaccurate free throw shooting during that same segment of the contest when the Raiders made only two of eight free throws.
Meanwhile Beau Chene exploded to a 38-23 halftime lead.
Beau Chene led by as many as 18 during the third quarter.
Arvie (29 points) and Titus Thomas (26) were the main scorers for the Gators. Chris Freeman supplied 31 for the Raiders.
North Central 59, Opelousas 51
Opelousas used defensive pressure and led by six (38-32) at the end of the third period, but the third-seeded Tigers had to sink consecutive three-point shots by Lewis Thomas and Mekhi Waller to send the game into overtime.
North Central quickly took a seven-point lead in the opening overtime period on scoring by Devion Lavergne and Opelousas never challenged after that.
Reginald Stoner scored a game-high 26 for the Hurricanes. Lavergne added 19.
Dillon Stevens was the high scorer for Opelousas (20) Adding 13 more for OHS was Javonnie Gibson.
GIRLS GAMES
North Central 81, J.S. Clark 79
This overtime game also provided drama as the night time crowd began filing into the gym and regulation ended with the teams tied at 77.
North Central senior Ya’Jaia Goudeau led all scorers with 37 points. The ‘Canes Katelyn Harrison had 17, while Bethany Irvine scored 11.
Clark featured two 20-point scorers (Tristanie Albert and Erianna Ned. Taylor Barnaba added 17, while Hailey Robins scored 11.
Northwest 52, Opelousas 41
Opelousas trailed the Raiders by two points (41-39) at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Tigers scored only two points during the final eight minutes as Northwest moved into the girls’ finals for a fourth straight time.
Makayla Savoy scored six key points for Northwest during the last three minutes and finished with 19. Teammate Raven Celestine sank a trio of treys and finished with 10.
