All locals eliminated from playoffs

It was a party-like atmosphere Friday night in the Central Catholic High School gymnasium.

Apparently no one told the Southern Lab basketball team.

Because they spoiled the celebration – and are now planning their own this weekend in Lafayette at the LHSAA’s Top 28 State Semifinals.

Playing before a standing room only crowd of mostly Eagles supporters, Southern Lab overcame that sea of red and walked out of Morgan City with a 63-48 win.

The loss closed the book on the Eagle’s season with a 21-6 record that included victories against perennial powers St. Thomas More, White Castle and Patterson.

But it also marked the second-straight season Central Catholic fell in the quarterfinals, something that Eagles coach Ree Case said sits in the pit of his stomach.

“I am proud,” Case said. “But I’m disappointed right now and really the season is disappointing to us because it’s disappointing to [the players] because we didn’t accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.”

Things didn’t start so bad for Central Catholic, as they rode their crowd to a 13-4 start to open the game and eventually a 31-26 halftime lead.

Junior Lloyd Grogan was the difference maker in the opening half surge, punishing the Kittens on the offensive glass to score most of his game-high 26 points.

The Eagles’ offense never recovered from the halftime intermission, as the Kittens swarmed Grogan in the second half and smothered Central Catholic’s interior offense, forcing them to take outside shots that they couldn’t convert.

“We just came out in the second half and we had a bunch of good looks and a bunch of easy shots and we just didn’t make them,” Case said. “We missed some free throws, which unfortunately has been our Achilles heel most of the year. … We just didn’t make shots. If we make any shots in the second half, I think we’d win.”

With their opponents sputtering, the Kittens got their offense purring, outscoring the Eagles 19-4 in the third quarter to take a 45-35 lead – a margin they never relinquished, thanks to stout free throw shooting down the stretch.

The loss marked the final game in the careers of two Eagles seniors – Blaze Watson and Devante Frank.

Case said seeing his players for the final time is the most disappointing thing about losing in the playoffs.

“I hate losing kids much more than I hate losing a basketball game,” Case said. “I’m going to miss them. They’ve been here four years , they’re four-year starters and I’m more upset about losing those two seniors than I am about losing this game.”

With the win, Southern Lab will take on its archrival Grambling in the Semifinals.

Elsewhere in the Tri-parish area:

The quarterfinals could have easily been considered Black Friday, as every remaining local team was eliminated from postseason contention.

In Class 3A, Patterson held a 62-61 lead on the road against Holy Cross with just more than a minute to play.

But the Lumberjacks weren’t able to hold on, surrendering the lead and the victory to the home standing Tigers, falling 65-62.

The loss ended the Lumberjacks season with an 18-8 record.

Patterson’s district rival E.D. White also suffered the same fate Friday, losing 53-33 to Abbeville. The Cardinals had survived in overtime in each of the opening two rounds of the playoffs, but couldn’t make it that far in the quarterfinals, falling behind in the earliest minutes of the game to finish their season with a 17-12 record.

In Class B, Houma Christian’s magical season ended one stop short of Lafayette, as the Warriors fell 81-71 to Fairview.

The loss ends Houma Christian’s season with a 22-6 record, while also snapping the team’s 12-game winning streak.