Bishop Loughlin clamps down on Madison Prep to advance to final

WESTWEGO – When you have depth, you have an advantage. When you shoot free throws very well and rebound very well, you simply are not going to lose.

Despite playing without prized recruit Julian Champagnie, who is nursing a hip injury for much of the way, unbeaten Bishop Loughlin of Brooklyn, NY showed its mettle in a 54-46 victory over Louisiana power Madison Prep Friday evening at the Alario Center to advance to the finals of the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic Boys National Bracket.

Julian’s brother, Justin Champagnie, helped pick up the slack with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Adam Logan Tobierre came off the bench to score 12 points. Tyshawn High finished with 11 points and six rebounds and Jaheim Young added 10 points and six rebounds for the Lions.

The Lions sank 22 of 26 free throws and dominated Madison Prep 35-17 on the boards, a pleasant sight for coach Edwin Gonzalez.

“We sometimes get off to a slow start and against a good team, we cannot do that but the kids turned it around in the second quarter, they picked it up,” Rodriguez said. “They knew what was at stake and they knew that this team was for real. We played our brand of basketball in the third quarter. I was pleased with our rebounding and free throw shooting as well.”

While the Lions improved on the offensive end as the game progressed, it was the other end of the floor that made the difference.

“We pride ourselves on defense,” Rodriguez said. “We were being very soft and very lazy earlier in the game and once they knew they had a ball game, they knew they had to strap it up and really defend and rebound.”

Rodriguez started highly recruited Julian Champagnie but sat him the rest of the way after the first quarter.

“He has a hip injury and a very good future and we simply did not want to risk him getting hurt any further,” Rodriguez said.

After the two teams exchanged baskets and had four lead changes early on, Madison Prep (14-4) went on a 9-0 run and took a 17-9 lead after one quarter.

Bishop Loughlin asserted itself in the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run to end the half to grab a 24-23 lead at the break. Justin Champagnie had 11 points to lead the Lions.

The third quarter was played on virtually even terms with Bishop Loughlin holding a 40-37 lead by the end of the period. Jaheim Young had eight points in the quarter for the Lions.

After the Chargers closed to within 44-43, Bishop Loughlin put the game away with a 7-0 run.

Jaheim Spencer led Madison Prep with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists but had little help offensively. The Lions dominated on the boards, outrebounding the Chargers 35-17.

Bishop Loughlin (10-0) advances to the championship game Saturday at 7 pm against the winner of the Sophie B. Wright contest with Dunham. You can watch it live at CrescentCitySports.com.

Final
Bishop Loughlin 9 15 16
Madison Prep 17 6 14

Scoring
Bishop Loughlin
Justin Champagnie 14, Adam Logan Tobierre 12, Tyshawn High 11, Jaheim Young 10, Taj Chiles 4, Maurice Toby 3

Madison Prep
Jaheim Spencer 20, Elijah Tate 5, Jalen Williams 5, Maurice Guss 4, Jordan Johnson 4, Kevon Shannon 3, Jason Perry 2

Rebounds
Bishop Loughlin 35, Madison Prep 17

Turnovers
Bishop Loughlin 13, Madison Prep 12