225 Preps

Marksville held French Settlement scoreless for the first four minutes Thursday and without a field goal for more than five minutes.

And the top-seeded Tigers (26-5) didn’t let up their swarming, stifling defensive intensity and basket-attacking on the other end until the final minutes of a 62-37 quarterfinal rout of No. 8 French Settlement (25-12) and on to a third straight state tournament appearance.

“We try to wear our hats on the defensive side of the basketball,” smiled coach Antonio “O’kie” Benjamin, still soaked from water bottles his players sprayed on him as he cut down the last piece of net. “We try to let our defense carry us throughout games, and that’s one thing you can be consistent at is our defense.”

Marksville applied pressure from start to finish with its length, athleticism and hustle whether with some early full-court looks, traps or staying in front of ball-handler, jumping passing lanes or closing out on shooters in the halfcourt.

The Tigers forced at least 20 turnovers, handily won the rebounding battle and held French Settlement to a season-low 37 points, including shy of 10 points each of the first three quarters.

“They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason,” French Settlement coach Jake Bourgeois said. “They’ve been in the state championship the past two years for a reason. They play great defense. They have some great individual players, but they play great team basketball and have each other’s back and fly around. They’re just super tough. They make everything, every possession hard, so points are hard to come by.”

Marksville pounced to a quick 9-0 lead with that defense, an electric home crowd and seven early points by junior guard Jaden Price.

French Settlement responded with a couple shots late in the opening period and continued to battle throughout, but the Tigers sustained their defensive effort, started finding more balance on offense and extended their lead every quarter.

“Just our preparation,” senior guard Armonii Benjamin said. “And going to the game, just keeping constant pressure on ’em, making ’em uncomfortable, making ball-handlers uncomfortable and just making it a hard time for them to score.”

Six different Tigers scored, led by Armonii Benjamin‘s game-high 19 points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and a blocked shot.

The veteran guard was fairly patient early, but then took over stretches with his ability to slice into the lane and attack the rim.

“It’s just something me and coach talked about, just knowing when to take over, when to lead and when to be available for the team,” he said.

Price finished the first quarter with nine point on his way to 14 on the night and  grabbed six rebounds and a steal.

Junior guard Dayne Small had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals, and junior forward Devin “Bam” Lavalais added seven points, a game-high eight rebounds, a blocked shot, a steal and an assist.

“It feels good to really play team ball,” Price said. “Everybody getting touches, and everybody can really score.”

Junior forward Reid Murphy and junior wing Jackson Chewning led French Settlement with 11 and 10 points, respectively, along with three assists by Murphy and four rebounds by Chewning.

Senior forward Drake Parrish finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals, and senior point guard Beau Matherne added five points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“I think if anybody said we’d be in the quarterfinals and have a shot to go to state, we take that every year,” Bourgeois said. “So I’m super proud of our kids. Last year we were knocked out in the first round, and it left a sour taste in our mouth, and I thought we did a good job this year responding and living up to the standards of what it means to be a French Settlement Lion.”

Marksville, the 2024 champion and 2025 runner-up, heads to Lake Charles for the third straight year and will face either No. 4 Doyle (27-5) or No. 5 Mamou (24-5) in the semifinals.

“I mean, this is like the perfect team: we’re not too young, we’re not too,” Armonii Benjamin said. “We’ve got just the right age, and all of our guys have been doing this for three or four years, so that’s what makes it so scary honestly … (We) expect just to win and have fun and just have a Marksville type of environment.”

Donaldsonville pulled back even in the open seconds of the fourth quarter and once again had its packed home gymnasium, loud all night, roaring to new heights.

Not only did Rayville not flinch, coach Adrian Hester said the tense moment in hostile territory was exactly the type of moment his team was built for.

The No. 14 Hornets (22-12) rattled off an 11-2 run, continued deflating the No. 3 Tigers (15-6) down the stretch and — with a strong traveling contingent of family and fans — ultimately celebrated a 64-55 victory to advance to the Division-III Non-Select quarterfinals.

“I think this game was won during our schedule,” Hester said. “If you look at it, we played one of the toughest schedules in Louisiana, and I think that set the tone that we knew we could come in here and do this big tonight … They want this bad, and they know what it takes. And like I said, we’ve been through some storms this year. And we felt like we shouldn’t have been a 14-seed. We just had some top seeds that we lost to be one or two points. So tonight all that was worth it.”

Senior forward Jayden Stephenson drained a 3-pointer for his first points of the game and squared up for another in transition just seconds later before instead seeing and hitting junior guard Xavier Wilson streaking to the basket for two.

Wilson stole the ball and went right back to the rack for another score, plus a foul.

When Donaldsonville finally answered with a driving bucket of its own, Stephenson countered with another 3 on the other end.

“When I was coming off the bench, coach Hester told me, he said, ‘Two 3’s will put ’em away,'” Stephenson said. “Last game, I had a good game. I felt very confident. And I just know I put the work in, so when I shoot ’em, whether they fall or not, I’m gonna keep shooting ’em. And I feel like my team needs me to shoot, so that’s what I’m gonna do.”

The Tigers continued battling, but with the moment spiraling further from their grasp and the Hornets beginning to sense the proverbial blood in the water.

Sophomore wing Landon Wilson, who led Rayville with 17 points, hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night — a timely dagger just as a couple prior had been.

“It’s very big,” he said of timely shots and loose-ball hustle plays to to help slow Donaldsonville rallies. “We work on that every day. I knew I had to dive on the floor to get the ball, because those are winning plays that showed up in the end.”

And sophomore wing Nolan Foster came away with a steal in the far corner of the court, pushed the ball ahead to senior forward Deveyoun Johnson and took off bolting to eventual catch the return pass slicing to a finish at the rim.

“We never really responded,” Donaldsonville coach Lionel Gilbert said. “And we had opportunities to respond. We got stops, and when we got the stops that we needed, we didn’t convert. We didn’t convert some layups. We didn’t convert on that end, and we turned the ball over. They kind of frustrated our guards at times and took us out of our action that we thought would be best to attack ’em. They really did a good job pressuring our guards and dictating and taking us out of our offense. And we started kind of withering away mentally. We didn’t show the mental capacity to take care of business tonight.”

Rayville snatched at least nine steals — led by Foster, Xavier Wilson and junior point guard Jaydon Johnson — and forced several other turnovers.

The Tigers could never cut the margin back any closer than nine points and, increasingly frustrated down the stretch, drew a pair of technical fouls that only further hurt their potential comeback hopes.

“I don’t even think it was the pressure of Rayville (that most caused the frustration),” Gilbert said. “I think it was the pressure of some seniors understanding that, ‘Hey, it’s win or go home.’ I just think the dynamics of the game got the best of us when they’re staring to realize that, ‘Hey, if we don’t get it done, it’s my last time putting that jersey on.’ Those guys have truly accomplished a lot. As I told them before the game and all week: Whether we win another game or win, lose or draw, I’m very proud of the mark that they’ve left. I feel like they did leave the program better than what they found it.”

Donaldsonville had come out on fire with a 14-3 start, highlighted by the hustle and physicality of senior multisport standouts Quinnton Dabney and Jaden Allen.

But Rayville answered with a 7-0 spurt, eventually received another nice boost on a buzzer-beating three-point play by Johnson and then took control in the second quarter, nearly doubling the Tigers up to take a 34-30 halftime lead.

Donaldsonville’s anxiousness visibly mounted in the third quarter as several high-percentage looks in the lane rimmed out and slowed their rally.

And when the Tigers finally did draw back even on their first possession of the fourth quarter, the Hornets swung back as strongly as ever with a flurry of 3-pointers and takeaways.

“Cutting the gaps, taking the guards away, me putting pressure on (their point guard) and getting him frustrated and taking him out the game,” Johnson said. “That just made the game way easier, and we just shut ’em down.”

Johnson, a spark on both ends of the court, finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and at least two steals.

Landon Wilson led both the Hornets’ offense with 17 points, including 4-for-8 shooting from deep, and rebounds efforts with seven boards against the bigger Tigers frontcourt.

“Our coach told us: We rebound, we win,” he said. “And it showed.”

Dabney finished his Donaldsonville career with another big night of 23 points, 13 rebounds, two steals and countless other plays he kept alive for his Tigers or disrupted for the Hornets with his hustle.

And sophomore forward Skyler Garrison added 10 points, five rebounds, a blocked shot and a steal.

“(Dabney) was all over the place, man,” Gilbert said. “That’s one of those seniors. He laid it on the line, and that’s what he’s been doing all season, man. That’s about his mark. He’s about a 26-point a game guy. We just fell a little short.”

Rayville will next visit No. 11 Green Oaks (15-14), which upset No. 6 Red River (22-11) on Tuesday, 54-47.

The Hornets are back in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2023, the last of a nine-year streak that included 2018 and 2019 state championships.

“As a coach, I won three state championships with the Simsboro program,” Hester said. “I’ve been a part of this. I’ve been there before. And Lake Charles is the goal. From the time we hit the track running miles to the time now, this is what we’re after.”

Added Johnson: “I feel like our team is playing very well. We’re playing as a team, moving the ball, and our chemistry’s on a whole nother level, and nobody can match that. So we’re gonna get to Lake Charles — no doubt.”

Drake Parrish jumped a pass near midcourt late in the third quarter, snatching a steal and weaving his way through defenders and right to the rim.

The senior’s second basket off the bench Monday sparked a double-digit finish in potentially his final home game and a 13-1 French Settlement run that helped blow open a back-and-forth battle vs. Avoyelles into a 63-46 victory on to the Division-III Non-Select quarterfinals.

“Before the game, we went over a press, and coach Jake (Bourgeois) put me in and said, ‘I need you to fly around. I need you to bring energy,'” Parrish said. “I was kind of playing scared in the first half. And he told me I needed to pick it up and stop playing timid. So I finally did, got the steal. The crowd was kind of down, so I threw my hands in the air and started trying to get them hype.

“Luckily my team trusted me and was able to find me, and we just kept believing in each other and bringing a lot of energy.”

Parrish scored again on a drive moments later on his way to 18 points — 15 of which came in the final 10 minutes — and five rebounds.

And senior point guard Beau Matherne hit a baseline shot to give the No. 8 Lions a 40-33 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Junior wing Jackson Chewning drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key in the opening seconds of the quarter, and he and Parrish each scored again to balloon the margin to 47-33.

“I called a timeout and chewed ’em out because we were playing terrible offensive basketball to start the third quarter — we had a bunch of turnovers and very little shot attempts — and they responded,” Bourgeois said. “Drake came out and gave us a ton of energy. We did a much better job. We were able to get in transition and get some easy ones. And when we did, it got the crowd going and got everybody into it. The gym kind of exploded, and whenever the gym exploded, we went on our run.”

The No. 9 Mustangs continued to battle, highlighted by 3-pointers by junior guard Orlando Jacobs and sophomore wing Kingston Rouse, but could never pull back within single digits.

“I’m proud of ’em overall,” Avoyelles coach Chris Dupuy said. “The loss stings right now, but I thought we had a good season. It’s not where we wanted it to end, but all good things have to come to an end.”

Chewning led all players with 21 points, eight rebounds, a couple blocked shots and a steal.

Matherne finished with five points, a game-high four assists, two steals and two rebounds.

Junior forward Reid Murphy added seven points, and senior forward Gabe Ellis and senior forward Trevor McMorris chipped in six each.

“I feel like we’re playing our best basketball right now,” Chewning said. “Nobody’s unbeatable, so I feel like we have a pretty good chance going into (the quarters).”

Rouse and Jacobs led the Mustangs with 19 and 15 points, respectively, and senior wing Chris Barnes had seven.

Junior forward Kobe Smith, a Louisiana (Lafayette) football target, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, kept several plays alive with his physicality and hustle and dished out a couple assists.

“That’s what he does for us every game,” Dupuy said. “He averages six points a game and 16 rebounds a game. He just works so hard. And him being really our only big person, it just takes a lot out of him. And when they can throw No. 12 at him and No. 14 at him, it wears on him, but I thought he did his normal job on the glass.”

French Settlement advances to its third quarterfinal in the past four years and will face Tuesday’s winner between No. 1 Marksville and No. 16 St. James.

But, first, Bourgeois will head to Hammond to coach his top-seeded Lady Lions in their first state tournament appearance since 2020 against No. 5 Ville Platte.

“I told my wife last week, ‘Look, I’m gonna be quite busy for the next couple of weeks,'” he smiled. “I’ll take being busy and take having to have all this work load as long as we keep winning. And I’ll take a little bit of sleep and enjoy all these wins and try to enjoy the moment with these kids, my seniors that I’ve got. And hopefully we can get another win in Hammond and then play Thursday-Friday again.”

The new kids on the block are headed to Hammond, America.

Second-year Prairieville (26-4) overcame a halftime deficit Thursday with a series of runs to blow open a 65-54 defeat of Salmen (26-4) and advance to the LHSAA Girls’ Marsh Madness Basketball State Tournament next week at Southeastern Louisiana.

While the No. 3 Lady Hurricanes are one of Louisiana’s newest programs, coach Chase Delrie explained their memorable performance and now historic opportunity on the big stage are the results of heavy investment and hours behind the scenes.

“This started last year in Year 1 with the group that we had last year, adding in the pieces that we brought together this year,” said the longtime head coach whose previous stops include Lutcher, French Settlement and Dutchtown. “I’ll be honest with you: On Aug. 7, the first day of school, we set really high expectations. One of those was to be a top-four seed and put ourselves in a position to play this game at home. One was to get to the Final Four and then ultimately to try to win a state championship.

“I’m just so overjoyed, enthused with these ladies and just their ability to be so resilient. We overcame so much adversity this year. The cliche is ‘you deserve it.’ This group really does deserve it. And tonight’s just a credit to all the work and all the things we’ve put together to get to this point.”

The Division-I Non-Select quarterfinal itself was a test of Prairieville’s mettle under pressure after an early run by Salmen allowed the Lady Spartans to play from ahead well into the third quarter.

But the Lady ‘Canes began turned the tide with complementary basketball fueled by hustle plays on defense, loose balls and the boards, pushing the pace and attacking the basket.

Prairieville scrapped into a back-and-forth middle of the third quarter, then rode a late spurt on series of transition scores by senior senior Rhian Comery and freshman Kailey Miles to take a 45-40 advantage into the final period.

“We just started playing more of team ball,” Comery said. “At the beginning, we had nerves. This is a very important game for all of us. This whole team has been through so much all together. And we came in the locker room and were like, ‘We’ve got to do this for us… And if we do this for us, we’re gonna do what we need to do.'”

That momentum continued to build to a long, over-the-top inbound from Miles to Comery to stretch the lead to double digits with less than four minutes remaining to send the home gymnasium into a roar.

And Miles, fellow freshman Aubrey Theriot and company found their mark at the foul-line to hold off Salmen’s desperate comeback attempts.

Comery, a UNO signee, finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a blocked shot in her final game on Prairieville’s home court.

Miles notched a double-double of her own with 14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block.

“Our coach said from the start: ‘We’ve gotta control the boards,” Comery said. “He said they wanted us with the most boards, he wanted us with double-doubles, and that’s what we gave ’em.”

Theriot scored 19 points with three of the team’s four 3-pointers and four late free throws, and Breanna Sanders (3), Marly Gatlin (2) and KK Syonakemp (2) chipped in a basket each along with their respective efforts defensive efforts and a game-high five assists by Gatlin.

“Those two (Comery and Miles) in particular have a tight bond together — they’re best friends,” Delrie said. “Rhian’s done a great job this year kind of taking Kailey under her wind. We always knew Kailey had that in her, and what a better (night) than tonight to come out and show that off. Rhian’s been a force all season. She’s been so dominant. She struggled a little bit early, but we knew she was gonna find a way.

“And I thought Breanna Sanders, too, what we got out of her and the guts she showed defensively, kind of shutting down No. 10 and making it difficult for her in the second half was remarkable. And then you piece in everybody together. Aubrey Theriot the last two games in the playoffs has been giving us that scoring punch. We had a lot of confidence in her going to the free-throw line at the end of the game. And even Marly coming out struggling in the first half, picking up a couple of fouls and then just being able to kind of settle in and do the things we were asking her to do.”

Senior shooting guard Akayla McMooian led Salmen with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists, and senior forward Bryelle Major added 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Junior point guard Kendal Thomas often paced the Spartans with 11 points, five assists, five rebounds and a steal, and An’Gana’e Domino and Parris Powell added five and four points, respectively.

Salmen’s quarterfinal run marked its deepest playoff finish since 2018.

Prairieville’s first state-tournament game in the program’s young history will come Thursday at 8 p.m. in Southeastern Louisiana’s University Center against No. 2 Slidell (29-1).

“From the beginning, since we first got here in August, we put in the work, we put in everything,” Miles said. “We knew what we could do. We knew our abilities and all that.”

Added Comery: “We had a goal in mind, and that’s what we’re chasing. We had these goals. We were undefeated at home. Now we’re going to the Final Four. That’s where we want to be.”