Country Day, De La Salle advance to state boys basketball finals with victories Wednesday

Country Day and De La Salle each won state championships in 2017. The Cajuns and Cavaliers are both alive and well to win a second state title each in the last three seasons.

Wednesday at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, the second-seeded Cajuns pulled away late for a 52-37 victory over No. 2 Episcopal in the Division III semifinals.

The Cajuns led 11-6 after one quarter and held a slim 21-20 lead by halftime. Country Day went to work in the third quarter, outscoring the Knights 14-5 to take a 35-25 lead. Episcopal would get no closer as the Cajuns controlled the fourth quarter, shooting free throws well to post the convincing victory.

Junior Justin Ibieta led Country Day (23-11) with 20 points and nine rebounds. Ibieta was 6 of 8 from the field and 6 of 8 from the free throw line. Kaleb Jenkins had 11 points and was outstanding defensively
Brandon Garrido and Austin Jemison each scored 12 points for Episcopal (25-9).

Country Day played man-to-man in the first half, including using a zone press. In the second half, Cajuns coach Mike McGuire got away from the press and went to a 2-1-2 zone and it proved to be tremendously effective.

“We went zone in the second half and really shut them down,” McGuire said “We outrebounded them 36-22 and made 13 of 17 free throws and they made just 6 of 13 from the line. Those were the key factors. We did a really nice job. They shot just 1 of 18 from 3-point range. I thought we did a nice job. Our guys showed poise throughout and played solid defense. Our size was a key factor in the zone defense in shutting them down.”

With the win, Country Day advances to face a familiar opponent in top seed Dunham. The defending state champion Tigers led from start to finish in a 79-63 victory.

Dunham whipped Country Day 71-53 on Jan. 3 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at the Alario Center. In 2017, Country Day whipped Dunham 70-41 in the Division III state championship game.

“We played Dunham earlier this season and they beat us pretty badly,” McGuire said. “Ross Talbot has added a lot to our scoring, interior defense and rebounding. We weren’t ready when we played Dunham earlier this year. Talbot has been playing well. Zane Hunter and Nicky Corchiani had handled the ball well. Justin and Kaleb have been very good. I don’t know if it is enough to beat Dunham but we will give it our best.”

In Dunham’s victory, the Tigers built a 20-13 lead after one quarter and extended the advantage to 41-26 by halftime. Dunham maintained that advantage, leading 58-43 through three quarters and the Tigers were never threatened.

Ty Spurlock led the Tigers (29-5) with 25 points, including five 3-pointers. Carlos Stewart added 18 points while Desean Woods finished with 14 points for Dunham. Kash Foley topped Riverside (17-17) with 17 points, Isaiah Bigham had 16 points and De’Juan Daniels finished with 13 points for the Rebels.

Dunham and Country Day will square off Saturday at 10 a.m. for the championship. It is the third straight year that Dunham is in the title game.

De La Salle is returning to the Division II state championship game for the second time in three years.

The third-seeded Cavaliers rallied from behind to edge No. 10 St. Louis Catholic 55-52.

The Saints looked like they were primed to pull another upset for quite some time. They built a 17-9 lead after one quarter. It was 30-25 St. Louis Catholic by halftime. The Cavaliers pulled within 41-39 after three quarters before finally grabbing the lead early in the fourth quarter and maintaining a slight edge the rest of the way.

Jalen Ned led De La Salle (22-9) with 19 points and 4 rebounds, Ja’Kobe Walker had 15 points and four assists and John Kelly finished with 12 points and six rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Preston Blanchard led St. Louis Catholic (17-13) with 16 points and seven rebounds, Jaden Johnson had 12 points and Colson Snider finished with 10 points. De La Salle had a 28-22 edge in points in the paint and its bench outscored Saints reserves 12-4.

De La Salle advances to face St. Thomas More in the title game Saturday at 2 p.m.

In a rematch of last year’s Division II state title game, No. 4 St. Thomas More whipped No. 1 University High 57-41.

De La Salle won the 2017 state championship, defeating University High 81-69 in the title game after the Cavaliers edged St. Thomas More 62-61 in the semifinals.

Allstate Sugar Bowl LHSAA Boys Marsh Madness Schedule/Results at Burton Coliseum-Lake Charles
Monday, March 4
Class 1A Semifinals
(2) North Central 60, (3) Jonesboro-Hodge 54
(8) Kipp-Booker T. Washington 59, (4) Delhi 43

Class C Semifinals
(1) Summerfield 67, (4) Atlanta 30
(2) Simpson 71, (3) Pleasant Hill 48

Class 2A Semifinals
(1) Rayville 115, (4) Ville Platte 52
(7) Port Allen 50, (6) Lake Arthur 46

Tuesday, March 5
Division V Semifinals
(2) Crescent City Christian 65, (3) Runnels 4
(1) Jehovah-Jireh 103, (4) Northside Christian 39

Division IV Semifinals
(3) Hamilton Christian 55, (2) Central Catholic 42
(1) Lafayette Christian 69, (4) Opelousas Catholic 66

Class 4A Semifinals
(1) Bossier 67, (5) Carencro 3
(3) Breaux Bridge 56, (2) Leesville 33

Wednesday, March 6
Division III Semifinals
(1) Dunham 79, (4) Riverside Academy 63
(2) Country Day 52, (3) Episcopal 37

Division II Semifinals
(3) De La Salle 55, (10) St. Louis Catholic 52
(4) St. Thomas More 57, (1) University Lab 41

Class B Semifinals
(1) Zwolle 41, (4) Weston 35
(2) Simsboro 73, (3) Hicks 69

Thursday, March 7
Division I Semifinals
(6) Brother Martin vs. (2) St. Augustine, 11:30 a.m.
(5) Catholic-BR vs. (1) Scotlandville, 1:15 p.m.

Class 5A Semifinals
(4) Bonnabel vs. (1) Thibodaux, 3 p.m.
(3) Walker vs. (2) Ouachita Parish, 4:45 p.m.

Class 3A Semifinals
(4) Madison Prep vs. (1) Sophie B. Wright, 6:15 p.m.
(3) Wossman vs. (2) Peabody, 8 p.m.

Friday, March 8
Division V championship, (1) Jehovah-Jireh vs. (2) Crescent City Christian, 10 a.m.
Division IV championship, (1) Lafayette Christian vs. (3) Hamilton Christian, noon
Class C championship, (1) Summerfield vs. (2) Simpson, 2 p.m.
Class 1A championship, (8) KIPP-B.T. Washington vs. (2) North Central, 4 p.m.
Class 2A championship, (1) Rayville vs. (7) Port Allen, 6 p.m.
Class 4A championship, (1) Bossier vs. (3) Breaux Bridge, 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 9
Division III championship, (1) Dunham vs. (2) Country Day, 10 a.m.
Division I championship, noon
Division II championship, (3) De La Salle vs. (4) St. Thomas More, 2 p.m.
Class B championship, (1) Zwolle vs. (2) Simsboro, 4 p.m.
Class 5A championship, 6 p.m.
Class 3A championship, 8 p.m.