The Nonselect boys playoffs are ready for Marsh Madness. The Nonselect school will play at Burton Coliseum on McNeese St campus in Lake Charles next week. Two local teams qualified for the state semifinals.
Gibsland-Coleman will be making an appearance for the first time since 2017 when they fell in the semis to Summerfield. The Bulldogs won their last state championship in 1999 when they won the Class B title. The history is with the Bulldogs as they are 3-0 in state championships. The other two championships are in back-to-back years of 1983 and 1984. Gibsland-Coleman will face No. 6 Phoenix Spartans on Tuesday, March 8 at 2 pm. Phoenix (17-15) ousted fellow district rival Summerfield in the first round and upset No. 3 Hornbeck on the road in the quarterfinals.
Lincoln Prep was just in the state championship in 2020 where they fell to North Central. This so happens to be their opponents on Monday, March 7 at 4:00 pm. The Panthers have not won a championship under their current moniker of Lincoln Prep. The last title comes in 1992 under Grambling Lab. North Central was eliminated by fellow District 1-A team Arcadia.
Class A
First Round
No. 9 Homer 63, No. 24 Sicily Island 40
Homer Pels D’Anthony Kimble and Spencer Dunn each piled in 26 points for the first round over Sicily Island Tigers
No. 14 Ringgold 86, No. 19 West St. John 45
Keesean Johnson had a huge night for the Redskins as he buried 35 points over the Rams. Jbarri Adams also added 21 points and 10 rebounds. LaDaunte McCoy contributed 10 points in the first-round victory.
No. 22 Plain Dealing 56, No. 11 Block 52
The late-season upstart Lions pulled the biggest upset of the Class A bracket by knocking out the Block Bears. Carnez Hillmon had a big 11 point second quarter on his way to an 18 point night. Tyrese Kimble finished with 13. Tre Boyd popped 10 points in the upset win on the road.
No. 12 Arcadia 66, No. 21 Oberlin 45
Second Round
No. 4 Lincoln Prep 52, No. 13 Homer 43
The district rivals stayed close in the first quarter 14-13. Dmitry Payne started strong for the Panthers with 12 points. D’Anthony Kimble kept pace for the Pels with 6 in the first quarter. The Pelicans struggled in the second quarter as they only scored 4 points. Lincoln Prep took a 26-17 lead at halftime. Kimble scored all four on a free throw and three-pointer. Spencer Dunn and Otis Ford closed the gap with 11 points combined. The Panthers still led 38-34. The last period didn’t go the Pels way as they were out scores 14-9 and exited in the second round. Dmitry Payne netted 20 points for the Panthers. Braylen Mayfield scored 13. Homer’s top scorer was D’Anthony Kimble with 18. Spencer Dunn bucketed 11.
No. 3 Northwood-Lena 65, No. 14 Ringgold 47
For the second year in a row, the Northwood-Lena Gators have eliminated Ringgold. Ringgold started early and looked to pull a second-round upset for the second year in a row as they took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter. Keesean Johnson started the first quarter with 6 points. The Gators snapped back in the second quarter and outscored Ringgold 21-11. Northwood-Lena took the 33-21 lead to the half. Despite Johnson’s 8 in the third, the Gators pulled off another 20 point quarter and took a 52-35 lead into the final quarter. Johnson had fouled out for the game and the Gators’ offense was just too strong as they eliminated Ringgold. Keesean Johnson led the Redskins with 18 points.
No. 6 White Castle 61, No. 22 Plain Dealing 42
The Cinderella ride for the Plain Dealing Lions came to an end in the second round in White Castle. Carnez Hillmon was the top scorer with 11 for the Lions.
No. 5 Tensas 63, No. 12 Arcadia 56
Quarterfinals
No. 4 Lincoln Prep 61, No. 5 Tensas 45
Lincoln Prep punched their second ticket to Marsh Madness in three years with the win over the Tensas Panthers at Scotty Robinson Memorial Gym at Louisiana Tech on Friday night. Lincoln Prep took a slight 14-7. LP Panthers expanded their lead in the second to 12 taking. 28-16. Lincoln Prep had been spreading the points around the horn for the lead. Dimitry Payne buried 11 points in the third. Tensas outscored Lincoln Prep 26-23 in the quarter. Lincoln Prep still led 51-42 at end of three quarters. Defense prevailed as Tensas was held to 3 points in the final quarter and Lincoln clinched their trip to Lake Charles.
Class B
First Round
No. 9 Saline 65, No. 24 Converse 57
The Bobcats played their last game at home and brought a first-round win over Converse. Ethan Roberts gave Saline a boost as they took a 14-12 lead after the first quarter. Titus Jackson and Titus Malone added 5 each in the second but Converse surpassed Saline 29-28 at halftime. The triple threat of Saline let loose in the third winning the quarter 21-8. Titus Malone hit 11 and Ethan Roberts added 8. Saline led 49-37 heading into the final quarter. Titus Malone brought the Bobcats through the second round. Titus Malone finished with 26. Ethan Roberts netted 22.
Second Round
No. 5 Doyline 89, No. 12 Bell City 66
The Panthers showed they meant business as they played their last home game on their home court. Jamaria Clark dropped 40 on the Bruins. Jamari Markray had a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Cayden Mingo added some spice to the normal duo with 15 points.
No. 9 Saline 56, No. 8 Holden 50
The Bobcats hod to take their showdown to South Louisiana. Saline opened the first quarter with a slight 9-8 lead. Titus Malone led the first quarter with 5. The Bobcats opened up their lead in the second quarter. Stephen Brown popped two threes and score 10 in the second quarter. Saline had a 25-18 lead at halftime. The third quarter was a high-scoring affair for both teams as Saline edged Holden 22-18. Titus Malone notched another 11 points in the quarter. Saline led Holden 47-36. Holden tried to come back in the final quarter but the Bobcats held on for a quarterfinal trip to Simsboro.
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Simsboro 81, No. 9 Saline 62
The Bobcats got hold of the reigning champs who many believe will repeat this year. Saline had to go on the road once again. Simsboro showed they were nothing to mess with at home as they opened the first quarter down 21-9. Ethan Roberts led the Bobcats with 5 in the first. Bobcats bounced back in the second quarter putting up 17 behind Stephen Brown’s three 3-pointers and 11 points in the second. Simsboro added another 21. Simsboro took the 42-26 lead at halftime. The big third quarter for both teams as Saline closed the gap some although the Tigers put another 20 point quarter in the books. Simsboro led into the final quarter 62-49. Simsboro locked in another trip to the Lake Charles to the semi-finals.
No. 4 Laccassine 74, No. 5 Doyline 66
The road ended for the Panthers in Laccassine on Friday night. The Panthers had to go on the road for the playoffs other than Marsh Madness for the first time since 2018. Laccassine Cardinals jumped out early with a 21-14 lead over the Panthers. Jamaria “Juicy” Clark scored all 14 for the Panthers. Jamari Markray took his chance in the second with 8 of the 14 points for Doyline. The Cardinals extended their lead to 8 as they took the halftime lead 38-28. The Panthers combo of Markray and Clark cut the lead to 5 heading into the final quarter only down 52-47. The two teams combined for 43 with the Cardinals finishing out on top. Jamaria Clark finished with 35 points for the Panthers. In his final game as a Panther, Jamari Markray netted 22 points.
Class C
1st Round (Round of 16)
No. 2 Gibsland-Coleman 114, No. 15 Kilbourne 30
The Bulldogs dominated Kilbourne in the first round. Joshua Adams 7 along with Javion Curry 5 gave GCHS a 27-7 first quarter lead. The pedal was to the metal in the second quarter as the Bulldogs dropped 30 points. Terrance James, Deavery Durham each dropped 6. Gibsland-Coleman took a 57-14 lead at halftime. Another 30 in the third had the Bulldogs up 87-22. The Bulldogs broke the clock in the fourth and on to the quarterfinals. Deavery Durham led with 26 points. Terrance James added 20 points. Joshua Adams punched in 18.
No. 6 Phoenix 70, No. 11 Summerfield 52
Quarterfinals
No. 2 Gibsland-Coleman 62, No. 7 Evans 44
The Bulldogs started strong once again with 16-8 first quarter. Terrance James popped 6 to power the Bulldogs forward. The two matched each other in the second quarter with 15 each. Gibsland-Coleman took a 31-23 lead into halftime: Junior Rictavious Harris got hot beyond the arc nailing 4 three-pointers for 12 in the second quarter. The Bulldog defense kicked into high gear only allowing Evans 2 points and extending their lead to 47-25. Dontarious Coleman and James each added 6 in the third. Evans tried to come back and outscored the Bulldogs by 4 but the Bulldogs punched their ticket to Marsh Madness.
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