WHAT HE SAID…
December 2, 2015
Councilman forgives man who killed his dad
December 2, 2015
Last year, the Central Lafourche boys’ basketball team had a magic regular season, but a forgetful, first-round loss in the Class 5A State Playoffs.
This year, the Trojans want more.
For the second-straight season, Central Lafourche is a local power on the hardwood – a team that looks prime to build on last year’s 20-plus-win season that marked the school’s first basketball district championship in 40 years.
With a slew of talented returnees on a roster that’s loaded with talent, the Trojans opened the 2015-16 season on fire this past week, earning three-straight victories to win the Morgan City Tournament.
Winning tournaments and high-stakes games are things the Trojans said they want to do all season after last year’s tough, disappointing finish.
“Losing in the first round hurt us, but it was also a learning and humbling experience,” senior forward Lionel Batiste said. “You go to the offseason with that loss on your mind and you just have to put in more work. You have to let that loss fuel your drive to get over the hump for the next season. I think we’ve done that. Honestly, I still think about that loss sometimes. It stays with me.”
The lasting memory surely been more of a motivator than a distraction – at least so far this season.
The Trojans have opened the season on a roll – picking up right where the team left off in last season’s magical run under coach Mark Sanders.
Central Lafourche swept through its opening week, trumping Lafayette 72-46, district rival Thibodaux 74-61 and then host Morgan City 61-53 in the tournament finals to roll to 3-0.
Players said after the tournament that the wins were exactly what was needed. The Trojans said they know that after winning more than 20 games last season, they have to learn how to play in 2015-16 with a bulls-eye on their chests. Every game, they said, will be a challenge, because they will get opponent’s best efforts.
That was on display against both Thibodaux and Morgan City – games that saw the Trojans in a back and forth battle through the entire 32 minute affair.
“We have a lot of guys who just go out every night with that ‘get it done’ mentality,” senior forward Quindon Charles said. “We just bring it to the floor every night – no matter the opponent, because we believe we can compete with anyone on any given night…. The Morgan City Tournament win was good for us, and now we just want to keep that same momentum going into the rest of the season.”
The way the team plans to do that is with strength in numbers.
One of the biggest strengths the Trojans have is depth – an ability to hurt opponents with anyone in its primary eight-to-nine-man rotation.
Some nights, it’s Batiste doing the most damage. Other times, it’s Charles, Anfernee Poindexter, Donovan Smith or others in a scoring effort that is often balanced.
Poindexter and Batiste said the Trojans are well aware that their large roster is a huge asset – one in which the team looks to use to its advantage in every, single game.
“Our depth is vital to us,” Poindexter said. “It’s key to us winning big games. We have the advantage on teams that are going to play five or six players the entire game.”
“Having so many returning guys makes everything smoother,” Batiste added. “Everyone has a bit of experience under their belt. … It just makes the game so much easier when you can go so deep on the bench and those guys who sub in have the same intensity and experience as the guys in the starting five.”
It’s an intensity that the Trojans hope ends with a season that people will be talking about for the ages.
Central Lafourche players were not shy about stating that it’s a team wide goal for the Trojans to win the Class 5A State Championship this season.
Of course, the Trojans know it won’t be easy. As always, Class 5A is loaded with talent, which means that every, single district game that Central Lafourche plays will be a battle.
But with depth, talent and a sour taste in their mouths from this past season, the Trojans think they have the ability to get it done.
This is, after all, the same group that rebuilt the program 12 months ago when they won the school’s first basketball district title in 40 years. They think that experience, plus an offseason to improve will spark a new run that will end better than a first-round playoff loss.
“We’ve lost in the first round of the playoffs two years in a row now,” Poindexter said. “It’s a bitter experience, but I believe we’ve overcome those losses and now use them as motivation to advance this season and achieve our No. 1 goal – the State Championship.”
“We have the potential to do it,” Charles added. “It’s just on us now to make it happen.”
‘Our depth is vital to us. It’s key to winning us big games.’
Anfernee Poindexter
Central Lafourche senior guard
Central Lafourche standout Qulndon Charles looks to make a pass during last week’s game versus Thibodaux.
