Mustangs douse Trojans’ playoff hopes

Playing for a spot in the playoffs, the Assumption Mustangs left no doubt that they belonged in the postseason in a dominated 75-40 win over Central Lafourche, last Friday in Mathews. The Mustangs controlled the tempo from start to finish and clinched the fourth-place spot in District 6-5A.

Meanwhile, with the loss, the Trojans lost an opportunity to clinch sole possession of second place, and a home playoff game. The loss dropped the Trojans to 8-6 in district play, tying them with Thibodaux.

Trojans head coach Paul Paille said it was puzzling to see his team play the way they did.

“We played the best game of my coaching career on Tuesday, to beat H.L. Bourgeois,” he said. “And tonight, I think I saw the worst game I’ve ever seen. I hate to say it was a letdown, but I guess that’s what it is.”

The Trojans took a 3-0 lead early, but after Chris Keys connected a three-pointer to give Assumption a 6-3 lead, the Trojans never regained the lead.

Sam Wilke answered Keys’ long ball with a three-pointer of his own, tying it 6-6, but Keys answered with his second three-pointer of the game, making it 9-6. From there, Assumption led for the rest of the game.

“We got a second chance to get an opportunity to play in the playoffs, and we wanted to take advantage of it,” said Mustangs’ coach Roland Moore Jr. “Defensively is where I think we really jumped on them. They didn’t get any good looks the whole first half.”

Other than not getting good looks, Central Lafourche’s shot just did not seem to fall. The Trojans scored just 14 points in the first half and trailed 35-14 at halftime.

The Trojans staged a mini-rally at the start of the second half, pulling within 51-38 at the 5:56 mark of the fourth quarter. However, after getting a steal, Ramond Henry missed a layup for the Trojans. From there, the Mustangs outscored Central Lafourche 24-2 to close out the game.

Paille said if the Trojans had made that layup, he felt they would have been back in the game. “I felt like if we would have scored right there, and hopped back into our press, that was our chance,” he said. “We missed the opportunity.”

Assumption had four players score in double digits, with Keys and Kasden Olivier contributing 15 points each. Riley House scored 13 points and Damien Jefferson added 12.

Sam Wilke and Mike Nowlan paced the Trojans with 11 points each.