Basketball: Shaw breaks long drought against St. Augustine, 55-51

NEW ORLEANS – It’s been a long time coming for Archbishop Shaw.

The Eagles were undefeated in the Catholic League going into Tuesday night. They left the gym unbeaten, making history in the process.

Shaw defeated St. Augustine, 55-51, at Dillard University’s Dent Hall.

St. Aug has haunted Shaw on the hardwood for a long time. There were times the Eagles came close but in the end they came up short. The victory was Shaw’s first over the Purple Knights since 2005, ending a 25-game skid overall.

“I could not remember the last time we beat St. Augustine. For our kids and our community, this is huge,” said Archbishop Shaw head coach Wes Laurendine. “We need to get two more to go 6-0 and we can continue on from there. (Starting district) 4-0 is great but we’re still not satisfied.”

Shaw (18-4) had a 44-34 lead starting the fourth quarter but St. Augustine (6-15) rallied with a 11-0 run to make it 48-47 with 2:10 remaining. Chris Landers scored a pair of buckets for the Purple Knights.

Kam Johnson answered for the Eagles with a pair of driving layups, and Shaw had a 52-47 lead with a minute to go.

Landers came back strong with another pair of layups, cutting the Eagleslead 52-51 with nine seconds remaining. Johnson and Austin LaSalle put the game away for the Eagles by making 3-of-4 free throws. Shaw made 7 of 10at the line in the final quarter preserving the long awaited victory.

“We have a different team this year. We knew that we haven’t beat St. Augustine in so long,” said Johnson. “We was prepared for this game and we got the win. We got to stay hungry and can’t get complacent.”

Shaw had strong start to the game with a pair of layups by Johnson and Isiah Barnes. Christian Creppel provided an added spark with a three-pointer that gave the Eagles a 10-5 lead that was extended to 22-12.

Landers took charge for the Purple Knights by scoring 11 points in the second quarter as St. Augustine went on a 8-2 run to draw within 24-20 at the half.

Shaw exploded with 12-0 run in the third quarter to build their biggest lead at 40-24, powered by three consecutive three-pointers from Johnson, LaSalle and Jene Baquet. Phillips took charge in the paint with a pair of layups, scoring nine points in the quarter.

St. Aug would not go down that easy, answering with a 10-2 spurt to close out the quarter. Landers scored five of the points in the run while Joshua Jackson knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to draw the Purple Knights slower at 44-34.

Shaw had three players scoring in double figures. Johnson led the Eagles with 17 points. Barnes and Phillips both finished with 12 points.

Landers led St. Augustine with 26 points.

“We’re getting better despite our record doesn’t show it. We’re going through our ups and downs but I’m proud of the way this team is sticking together,” said St. Augustine head coach Gerald Lewis. “You see them fighting and they haven’t giving up yet. Our goals are still ahead of us. It’s not going to be pretty but we’re still in it.”

St. Augustine will have the rest of the week off before they hit the road against Holy Cross next Tuesday.

Shaw, coming off a two game-road swing, will be hosting Holy Cross on Friday night.

Area Prep Basketball Results from Tuesday, Jan. 18

Boys

Amite 55, Kentwood 45

Archbishop Hannan 49, Albany 29

Archbishop Rummel 38, Chalmette 30

Archbishop Shaw 55, St. Augustine 51

Brother Martin 58, John Curtis Christian 46

Christ Episcopal 59, Mount Hermon 36

Donaldsonville 68, E.D. White Catholic 52

Doyle 47, Bogalusa 20

East St. John 87, Terrebonne 57

French Settlement 55, Riverside Academy 39

Hahnville 61, H.L. Bourgeois 54

Haynes Academy 60, Kenner Discovery 57

Holden 62, Maurepas 39

Jesuit 56, Holy Cross 53

John Ehret 66, Belle Chasse 49

Landry 70, John F. Kennedy 64

Lutcher 57, St. James 52

Madison Prep 70, Destrehan 42

M.L. King Charter 68, Cohen 46

New Iberia 67, Helen Cox 48

Northshore 85, Hammond 74

Ponchatoula 63, Fontainebleau 48

St. Helena 100, Varnado 38

St. Paul’s 53, Mandeville 37

St. Thomas Aquinas 62, Denham Springs 56

West St. John 73, Crescent City Christian 47

Girls

Albany 64, Archbishop Hannan 35

Ben Franklin 51, Haynes Academy 35

Chalmette 45, Higgins 22

Doyle 47, Bogalusa 36

East St. John 74, Terrebonne 43

E.D. White Catholic 42, Donaldsonville 36

H.L. Bourgeois 46, Hahnville 42

Jennings 67, John F. Kennedy 27

Kenner Discovery 68, Sophie B. Wright 29

Lakeshore 45, Pearl River 39

Mount Hermon 65, Christ Episcopal 24

Newman 57, McGehee 20

Oak Hill 84, Country Day 37

Ponchatoula 78, Fontainebleau 38

South Plaquemines 68, St. Katharine Drexel 11

St. Helena 45, Varnado 9

St. Martin’s Episcopal 60, West St. John 11

St. Scholastica 48, Salmen 42