Twelve teams will cut down the nets in Louisiana high school boys basketball during the state finals on March 8-9 and all the exciting action can be found on CST.
It all comes down to this for the top teams in Louisiana. Teams have been competing for championships in their respective classes and divisions this week in the Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Boys’ Marsh Madness at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.
By Friday (March 8), the number of total teams will be trimmed to 24 that will have a shot at winning titles.
Five Baton Rouge-area defending champions were in the 48-team field: Walker (5A), Madison Prep (3A), Scotlandville (Division I), The Dunham School (Division III) and Jehovah-Jireh (Division V).
On March 7 in the semifinals, Walker plays Ouachita Parish (4:45), Scotlandville clashes with Baton Rouge Catholic (1:15) and Madison Prep faces vs. Wright (6:15).
The Dunham School defeated Riverside 79-63 in the semifinals. Ty Spurlock scored 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting (5-of-7 on 3-pointers) in the victory.
“The last couple of months I was struggling from the 3-point line,” Spurlock said to The Advocate. “I was told I should believe it will go in every time. I have confident and it did.”
Jehovah-Jireh cruised past Northside Christian 103-39 in the semifinals. Jehovah-Jireh scored 58 points on 31 turnovers.
“We started off a little slow and then we picked it up on the defensive end,” Jehovah-Jireh coach Dirk Ricks said to The Advocate. “We shot the ball much better in the second half. This group all year has been very good with attention to details.
The Dunham School will go against Metairie Park Country Day in the Division III title game on March 9 (10 a.m.).
Dunham Head Coach Jonathan Pixley gives his thoughts about going into the Division III Boys’ Marsh Madness Finals! pic.twitter.com/zTnD1D8zGg
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 6, 2019
Jehovah-Jireh will play Crescent City in the Division V title game on March 8 (10 a.m.).
As for the New Orleans area, Crescent City (Division V), a finalist last year, returned to the tournament. Sophie B. Wright (Class 3A), De La Salle (Division II), Riverside (Division III) and Country Day (Division III) were back and hoping to improve past the semifinal round.
On March 7 in the semifinals, Wright plays Madison Prep (6:15).
Crescent City punched their ticket to the title game vs. Jehovah-Jireh with a resounding 65-44 victory vs. Runnels.
Crescent City beats Runnels in the Division V Semi-Finals and will advance to the finals! pic.twitter.com/JRfzxqnFmN
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 5, 2019
Crescent City went on a 20-3 run in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.
“I think we started off flat. We had to get ourselves going a little bit. The guys started to trust and believe in each other,” Crescent City coach Shaun Dumas said to The Advocate. “We had to play the brand of basketball we play. And that’s loving each other, being there for each other and being dependable. I think once we did that, we got into a rhythm and then one thing led to another.”
De La Salle edged St. Louis 55-53 and will play St. Thomas More in the Division II title game on March 9 (2 p.m.).
De La Salle Head Coach Paul Kelly gives his thoughts on going to the Division II Boys’ Marsh Madness State Championships! pic.twitter.com/HERCbhLvbl
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 6, 2019
De La Salle rallied in the final frame with a 12-2 run en route to winning a game in which they mostly were behind.
“One of our mantras is ‘it is all about the fourth quarter,'” De La Salle coach Paul Kelly said to The Advocate. “We never have expectations of separating early; we always talk about who is going to make the plays, who is going to find a way to separate in those last quarters.”
Metairie Park Country Day beat Episcopal 52-37 to set up the title game matchup vs. The Dunham School.
Metairie Park Country Day will advance to the Division III Boys’ Marsh Madness Finals! pic.twitter.com/8qn6aG0Xvo
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 6, 2019
Metairie Park Country Day finished 13-of-18 at the free throw line.
“Free-throw shooting is a little contagious,” Metairie Park Country Day coach Mike McGuire said to The Advocate. “I think our guys wanted to get to the free-throw line. Some teams don’t. This team looks to get there. They want to close it out.”
Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Boys’ Marsh Madness Finals
March 8:
Division V (10 a.m.): No. 1 Jehovah-Jireh vs. No. 2 Crescent City
Division IV (noon): No. 1 Lafayette Christian vs. No. 3 Hamilton Christian
Class C (2 p.m.): No. 1 Summerfield vs. No. 2 Simpson
Class 1A (4 p.m.): No. 2 North Central vs. No. 8 KIPP Booker T. Washington
Class 2A (6 p.m.): No. 1 Rayville vs. No. 7 Port Allen
Class 4A (8 p.m.): No. 1 Bossier vs. No. 3 Breaux Bridge
March 9:
Division III (10 a.m.): No. 1 Dunham vs. No. 2 Metairie Park Country Day
Division I (noon): No. 1 Scotlandville/No. 5 BR Catholic vs. No. 2 St. Augustine/No. 6 Brother Martin
Division II (2 p.m.): No. 3 De La Salle vs. No. 4 St. Thomas More
Class B (4 p.m.): No. 1 Zwolle vs. No. 2 Simsboro
Class 5A (6 p.m.): No. 1 Thibodaux/No. 4 Bonnabel vs. No. 2 Ouachita/No. 3. Walker
Class 3A (8 p.m.): No. 1 Wright/No. 4 Madison Prep vs. No. 2 Peabody/No. 3 Wossman
Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Boys’ Marsh Madness Semifinals Results
Division V:
No. 1 Jehovah-Jireh 103, No. 4 Northside Christian 39
No. 2 Crescent City 65, No. 3 Runnels 44
Division IV:
No. 1 Lafayette Christian 69, No. 4 Opelousas 66
Congrats to Lafayette Christian for their 69-66 win over Opelousas Catholic and advancing to the Division IV Finals! pic.twitter.com/L8E94JZ1n7
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 6, 2019
No. 3 Hamilton Christian 55, No. 2 Central Catholic 42
Class C:
No. 1 Summerfield 67, No. 4 Atlanta 30
Summerfield beats Atlanta in the Class C Semi-Finals and will advance to Finals! pic.twitter.com/O0ZwjOJCGB
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 4, 2019
No. 2 Simpson 71, No. 3 Pleasant Hill 48
Class 1A:
No. 8 KIPP Booker T. Washington 59, No. 4 Delhi 43
Booker T. Washington beats Delhi 59-44 and will advance to the Class 1A Finals! pic.twitter.com/PYCtadoFnH
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 4, 2019
No. 2 North Central 60, No. 3 Jonesboro-Hodge 54
North Central beats Jonesboro-Hodge 60-54 and will advance to the Class 1A Finals! pic.twitter.com/pCjf8RqkNQ
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 4, 2019
Class 2A:
No. 1 Rayville 115, No. 4. Ville Platte 52
Rayville sets a new Class 2A record with 35 assists in the semi-final game. Record previously held by Riverside Academy with 25 assists in 2014.
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 5, 2019
No. 7 Port Allen 50, No. 6 Lake Arthur 46
Port Allen advances to the Class 2A Finals with their 50-46 win over Lake Arthur! pic.twitter.com/awDEvwBvJs
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 5, 2019
Class 4A:
No. 1 Bossier 67, No. 5 Carencro 39
Bossier wins it! The Bearkats will advance to the Class 4A Finals!!! pic.twitter.com/5pkSETIrPb
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 6, 2019
No. 3 Breaux Bridge 56, No. 2 Leesville 33
Breaux Bridge wins the Class 4A Semi-Finals and will face Bossier in the Finals! pic.twitter.com/nBLHkrnhva
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 6, 2019
Division III:
No. 1 Dunham 79, No. 4 Riverside Academy 63
No. 2 Metairie Park Country Day 52, No. 3 Episcopal 37
Division II:
No. 4 St. Thomas More 57, No. 1 University Lab 41
St. Thomas More will advance to the Division II Boys’ Marsh Madness Finals with their win over University High! pic.twitter.com/k219b1QlFm
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 7, 2019
No. 3 De La Salle 55, No. 10 St. Louis 53
Class B:
No. 1 Zwolle 41, No. 4. Weston 35
Zwolle wins the Class B Sem-Finals and will advance to the Finals! pic.twitter.com/oBd36dHreb
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 7, 2019
No. 2 Simsboro 73, No. 3 Hicks 69
Simsboro wins it 73-69 and will face Zwolle in the Class B Boys’ Marsh Madness Finals! pic.twitter.com/OvkGBtGPvt
— LHSAA (@LHSAA) March 7, 2019