Carver dismantles Huntington to reach Class 4A final

LAKE CHARLES – Carver is on a mission.

Walking into Burton Coliseum, the first sighting Wednesday was the Media Room, where Carver players and its head coach, Nate Roche, were following an excruciating loss in the Class 4A title game in 2021.

As the perceived favorite to win the 4A state championship in 2021, the Rams lost a one-point heartbreaker to McMain in the championship a year ago.

From day one, the Rams have been determined to erase that memory and to win the title that they fell just short of.

The memories linger.

Carver is determined to exorcise its demons, to turn that nightmare of 2021 into a celebration in 2022. The mission continued in full force Wednesday in Lake Charles.

The top-seeded Rams jumped all over No. 4 Huntington and never let up in an 84-35 rout of the Raiders at Burton Coliseum Wednesday afternoon.

Carver shot 51 percent from the field, controlled the boards by a 49-30 margin, forced 15 turnovers and blocked eight shots in a dominant performance in all facets, holding Huntington to just 25 percent shooting from the field.

After Rayshun McCuller nailed a 3-pointer to put Huntington on top to start the game, the Rams responded with a 15-0 run and never looked back.

Carver led 19-5 after one quarter behind seven points from Willie Anderson.

The Rams opened the second quarter on a 14-6 run and closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a commanding 41-15 lead behind 15 points from Dorian Finister. Carver committed just one turnover in the half.

Carver continued its dominance in the third quarter, opening the period on a 16-2 run to make it 57-19 before Nate Roche substituted liberally and the Rams had a 65-26 lead going to the final quarter. Jaylon Hicks had 12 points in the third quarter for the Rams.

The Rams came back with starters to begin the fourth quarter and went on a 12-2 run. Roche cleared his bench again with 3:58 to play.

Hicks led Carver with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Finister had 19 points, seven rebounds five assists and four steals and Solomon Washington had 16 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. Laurence Nathan added 11 points.

Kameron Evans topped Huntington (23-6) with eight points while DeCedric Webb scored seven points.

Huntington is still reeling from the loss of teammate Devin Myers, who was shot and killed last week but showed great class and fortitude in continuing to compete in honor of the Myers’ memory.

Carver (28-2) moves on to the 4A state championship game Saturday at 11 a.m. McMain edged Carver 49-48 for the 4A championship a year ago.

While Roche said it would not matter who the Rams play in the final, both Finister and Anderson made it clear that they knew who they would like to play with an unmistakable inference of McMain. Their wish was granted when the defending champion Mustangs defeated Edna Karr later in the second semifinal.

McMain will have to bring it with all their might to have a shot at knocking off a powerful Carver team clearly on a mission.

FINAL
Carver 19 22 24 19 — 84
Huntington 5 10 11 9 — 35

Scoring:
Carver—Jaylon Hicks 20, Dorian Finister 19, Solomon Washington 16, Laurence Nathan 11, Willie Lee Anderson 8, Jaron Richardson 7, Raymond Evans 2, Marquailon Mitchell 1

Huntington—Kameron Evans 8, DeCedric Webb 7, Rayshun McCullar 5, Shemaine Thomas 4, Theron Tucker 3, Juemeel Turner 2

Rebounds:
Carver 49
Huntington 30

Turnovers:
Carver 7
Huntington 15