Terrebonne winning streak continues; Defense, hot inside game leads to 61-48 win over Central Lafourche

When Central Lafourche and Terrebonne tipped off the second half of action in District 6-5A play last Friday, it represented two of the hottest teams in district facing off in Mathews.

The Trojans entered the game on a four-game win streak, and Terrebonne entered riding a three-game win streak. At the end of the night, Terrebonne had extended its win streak to four games, using tough defense and a dominating inside game to beat Central Lafourche 61-48.

The fourth quarter started with Terrebonne holding a 40-38 lead. The Tigers were able to extend that lead when Central Lafourche went cold from the floor, scoring just two fourth-quarter points in the first 5:46 of the quarter. Terrebonne coach David Neal credited his team’s defense for limiting the Trojans offense. “Throughout the night we executed on defense,” said Neal. “We had great chemistry in taking away their perimeter shooting. I felt like on the perimeter, we did a good job of … making them do things they wouldn’t normally do. Just taking them out of their rhythm.”

Despite the Trojans scoring drought, a Mike Nowlan (13 points) three-pointer at the 2:14 mark of the fourth quarter cut the Trojans’ deficit to 48-43.

Terrebonne’s Brandon Diggs (18 points) answered with a lay up, but the Trojans followed with another three-pointer, this one from Ramond Henry (9 points) to make it 50-46.

With Central Lafourche looking for a crucial stop with less than two minutes remaining, the Tigers’ Mike Jones dunked it for a 52-46 Terrebonne lead. On the Trojans’ next possession, Henry tossed an air-ball from behind the arc.

Terrebonne pulled away in the final seconds to clinch the 61-48 win.

Central Lafourche coach Paul Paille said it was simply that Terrebonne was the better team that night. “We flat out got outplayed, tonight,” said Paille. “The five road wins we got (this season), we were in control the whole game. Tonight, we were never in control. They did to us what we’ve been doing to other people.”

The victory was critical for Terrebonne (16-10 overall, 4-4 district), which moved them into a third-place tie in district. Central Lafourche (10-15 overall, 6-2 district) remained in second place.

Terrebonne got off to a quick start, building an early 9-4 lead at the 3:28 mark of the first quarter. After a Nowlan free throw, the Trojans pulled within 9-8 when Lucas LeBlanc converted a three-point play after being fouled on a lay up.

The first quarter ended with Terrebonne leading 15-12.

Late in the second quarter, it appeared Central Lafourche was close to taking control of the game. After falling behind 20-15, the Trojans went on an 8-0 run to lead 23-20. Central Lafourche built its biggest lead of the game at the 40-second mark, when Davon Anderson put back an offensive rebound for a 27-22 advantage.

However, Terrebonne pulled within a basket on Nick Williams’ three-point play with 20 seconds in the half.

Terrebonne scored the first four points on the third quarter, but LeBlanc answered with a three to give the Trojans a 30-29 lead. The remainder of the quarter was even, with the Tigers scoring the final points of the quarter at the 51-second mark to make it 40-38.

Neal said his team’s ability to rebound played a role in pulling away in the fourth quarter. “In the fourth quarter,” he said, “we did a better job of limiting them to one shot. I felt like early on they were getting too many second shots.”

Paille said turnovers cost his team opportunities. “We made some really bad decisions with the basketball,” he said. “We probably had a good six or seven turnovers trying to force the ball where it didn’t need to go. We can’t win like that because we don’t get enough offensive rebounds. We can’t waste possessions, and we wasted them tonight.”