My thoughts on this week of non-stories in sports
March 5, 2014
NSU gets offense from consistent leadoff man
March 5, 2014
The Ellender Patriots have been the area’s best basketball team most all season.
The Patriots got a chance to prove it again last Friday night, and against a foe that was all too familiar.
Led by junior Leland Alexander’s 20 points, No. 12-seeded Ellender defeated District 7-4A rival and No. 21-seeded Assumption, 60-54, in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs.
It was the Patriots’ fourth win in five games against the Mustangs this season. This one came just eight days after the two teams had met in a one-game playoff to decide the district race — a game Ellender won for the right to host Friday’s bi-district playoff opener.
The familiarity between the two teams may not have been entirely to the Patriots’ benefit, though.
According to Ellender coach Cornell Scott, the Patriots struggled at times to maintain their focus given how many times they’d already played Assumption.
“By playing the same team five times, even in practice, I saw my guys weren’t focused and it was a battle trying to get their heads into the game knowing (Assumption was) a good team,” Scott said.
Alexander said the team felt they knew everything there was to know about Assumption.
“It’s hard to beat a team four times, but we felt pretty confident coming into this game,” he said. “But you’ve still got to keep your head on straight and keep fighting.”
For Ellender, the fight started not long after the game got underway.
Despite getting out to a 10-0 lead and holding Assumption without a basket over the first three-plus minutes, Ellender struggled to put the Mustangs away. By halftime, Assumption had cut the lead to four at 29-25 and made it clear they had no intentions of going quietly into that good night.
Yet for every Mustangs rally, Ellender had an answer.
Assumption fought back from a nine-point deficit in the second half and twice made it a 2-point contest in the final 30 seconds, only to see Ellender salt the game away at the foul line. Two free throws from Curtis Anderson (10 points) with 15.7 seconds to play made it 58-54 and Assumption never got closer.
After Ellender had hung on, Scott said the win was partly about re-establishing that the Patriots were the top dog in the area. At 25-4 overall, with a district title and at least one playoff victory now all under their belts, the Patriots have left little doubt there.
“We always want to show our dominance and I think my guys do a good job,” Scott said. “Despite adversity, they’re always putting forth their best effort. They really did show that they are the team in this area. For the next couple of years to come, I think we’re going to pretty tough in this area.”
Now that they’ve proven themselves on the local stage, the next step is trying to conquer state.
Ellender began that quest this week as they were scheduled to face No. 5-seeded Tioga in the regional round of the playoffs. Tioga (29-3 overall) was the champion of District 3-4A.
Despite facing some long odds as a lower seeded team, Alexander said the Patriots had the confidence to survive and advance. But even if they fall short this season, their future still looks bright going forward.
“I think we’re on our way to a championship,” Alexander said. “We’re going to practice very good, keep our intensity level up, and we should be fine.”
ELSEWHERE IN THE TRI-PARISH AREA
In Class 5A, No. 19-seeded Thibodaux (21-8 overall) scored a first-round playoff upset of No. 14-seeded Lafayette, 58-55 on Friday.
The Tigers were scheduled to face 30th-seeded Ouachita Parish in the regional round on Tuesday after Ouachita stunned No. 3-seeded C.E. Byrd in the opening round, 76-73.
That game was played at Thibodaux High School’s gym, which gives Thibodaux an advantage, as they have one of the elite home-court advantages in all of local prep basketball.
No score from the game was available at press time.
Also in Class 5A, No. 26-seeded Central Lafourche fell to No. 7 East St. John, 71-58. The Trojans’ season ended at 17-11 overall.
The game was a rubber meeting between the two district rivals, who split a pair of games in the regular season.
The Wildcats started hot and took a double-digit lead early in the game – an advantage that they never relented in securing the easy victory over the Trojans to move to the next round.
In Class 3A, No. 7-seeded Patterson defeated No. 26 Evangel Christian, 68-43. The Lumberjacks improved to 20-4 overall this season and were scheduled to host 10th-seeded St. Louis on Tuesday. No score from the game was available at press time.
Also in Class 3A, No. 25-seeded E.D. White Catholic fell to No. 8 Donaldsonville, 59-44. The Cardinals finished the season at 15-11 overall.
In Class 1A, No. 17-seeded Covenant Christian fell to No. 16 Ascension Episcopal, 53-50, in the bi-district round of the playoffs.
The Lions finished the season 17-13 overall.
The Ellender boys’ basketball team has been the crown jewel local program throughout the duration of the 2013-14 season. The Patriots stormed into the Class 4A Second Round this past week in a sound victory over Assumption. With the win, the Patriots improved to 4-1 against their district foe on the season. Ellender took on Class 4A powerhouse Tioga in the second round with no score available at press time. Also alive in the brackets are Thibodaux and Patterson, who each hosted second round matchups.
