Marksville took control with its calling-card defense once again Saturday, then blew the Division-III Non-Select title game wide open with hot-shooting stretches in the second half.
The No. 1 Tigers (27-5) drained four straight 3-pointers during a 17-3 third-quarter run that swiftly swung their first deficit into a double-digit lead and kept rolling away from No. 2 Madison Parish (28-4) to an emphatic 65-44 victory and their second championship in three years.
“What we talk about is defend, rebound and take care of the ball,” coach Antonio “O’kie” Benjamin, a Marksville alumnus, told the LHSAA Network postgame broadcast. “We feel like if we do those things, offensively we’re gonna find our rhythm because we’ve got several guys who can put the ball in the hole.”
His son, senior guard Armonii Benjamin, hit a pair of 3-pointers in quick succession to help maintain the lead as the Jaguars began rallying for a slow, sloppy start.
And when Madison Parish finally claimed its first lead, 27-26, early in the third quarter, Benjamin helped spark the Tigers’ swift and decisive response with back-to-back 3’s on one end and a perimeter block of one on the other.
The younger Benjamin, the game’s Most Outstanding Player, finished with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-16 (50%) from the floor and 5-for-10 (50%) from deep, plus four rebounds, four assists, a steal and a blocked shot.
The Benjamins had won 2023 and 2024 Division-V Select championships at Avoyelles Public Charter before O’kie took over his alma mater’s program this past offseason and Armonii followed him to finish his high school career and a family mission.
“It feels great. All the hard work we put in, all the early-morning practices… it just means a lot to know all the work we put in shows,” the senior guard told the LHSAA Network, later adding to Louisiana vs. All Y’all: “It means a lot, because I know how much this means to him, coming back home.”
Said the coach: “This is why I came here. I had the chance to play in a state championship game my senior year at Marksville as well, and we lost. And so to be able to come back home first year and do it and win it with my son, my nephew and the whole squad behind us, it’s wonderful right now, man.”
Junior guard Dayne Small blocked a shot between Benjamin’s third-quarter 3’s, then after his teammate’s block hit a trey of his own.
Marksville’s swarming, surging defense forced a turnover a few seconds later, and junior guard Jaden Price joined the 3-point party to push the run to 12-0 and the lead to 38-29.
The Tigers ultimately took a 43-35 lead into the fourth quarter and piled on with a 13-0 run, against sparked by Benjamin, to effectively put the game away.
“It was just going back to our original game plan,” Antonio “O’kie” Benjamin said. “I thought was started the game buying into the game plan, then broke away from there through a stretch. And then at halftime, we just told ’em settle down and remember our game plan: We want to pack the paint and make them shoot long, contested shots, because they weren’t the greatest shooting team, and in return we could get longer rebounds and won’t allow them to get set in the zone, which gives us easier opportunities offensively. And so guys started getting that, and we started hitting shots as well.”
Armonii Benjamin stepped by a missed steal gamble by a Madison Prep defender and hit jumper just inside the free-throw line.
Senior forward Davoughn Hayes corralled the ball after a chaotic sequence of the teams trading steals, got the ball to junior forward Devin “Bam” Lavalais and then to Benjamin, who attacked off the wing and finished at the rim through multiple defenders.
Benjamin drained his fifth 3-pointer moments later. Price and Small tacked on two-point baskets inside the foul line to add to the flurry.
Marksville junior guard Jaden Price chipped into the Tigers’ hot-shooting second half Saturday, March 14, 2026, to secure the Division-III Non-Select championship against Madison Parish. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick, One T Photography)
And a transition opportunity set up a Price dish to Benjamin for a wide-open, one-handed slam for the exclamation mark with still 4:22 to play.
The torching-hot shooting at pivotal moments was eye-catching, but Marksville’s defense was smothering nearly throughout.
Madison Parish’s 44 points marked its second-lowest of the season and lowest since Nov. 25, 2025, and the finished the Tigers’ playoff run of holding all four opponents below 50 points and to an average of 42.0 points per contest.
Marksville was credited with six steals and 14 Jaguars turnovers in all; held them to 17-for-46 (37.0%) shooting; and won the rebounding battle, 33-25.
Madison Parish continued to battle down the stretch, but could only keep even the rest of the way — not trim into the deficit — as the Tigers continued to fly around the court and sense their title-grip tightening.
Small scored 17 points on 6-for-10 (60%) shooting overall and 3-for-4 (75%) from deep and provided two rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot.
Lavalais added 13 points on 5-for-7 (71.4%) shooting, grabbed game-highs of nine rebounds and three steals and dished out an assist.
Price had a seven points, a game-high seven assists, four rebounds and a steal, and Hayes chipped in five points, eight rebounds, a steal and an assist.
“They’re the best (group) to come through here,” Antonio “O’kie” Benjamin said of the senior class. “I’m proud they accepted me with open arms and bought into the system that I wanted to bring in for them. And I told them from Day One, they’ve been to state championships — it was us cementing ourselves as being one of the best teams and one of the best names in Louisiana.”
Marksville guard Dayne Small scored 17 points Saturday, March 14, 2026, during a standout performance in the Division-III Non-Select championship against Madison Parish. (Photo: Bret H. McCormick)
Senior forward Dawson Brown led the Jaguars with 17 points on 6-for-11 (54.5%) shooting, including 2-for-6 (33.3%) from deep, and four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
Freshman guard Byron Vaughn had 12 points, three assists, two steals and a rebound,
And sophomore guard Jareon Hines provided a critical spark off the bench with eight points, five rebounds, two assists, a blocked shot and a steal.
