Country Day gets on track with 59-32 win over MLK Charter

METAIRIE – It has been an unusually tough year for traditional power Country Day.

The defending Division III state champion Cajuns have struggled against a very difficult schedule but those struggles were nowhere in sight Tuesday night at Patrick Gymnasium.

The Cajuns blitzed visiting Martin Luther King Charter 59-32.

After a close first quarter, it was all Country Day the rest of the way.

The Cajuns routed the Jaguars 59-32 in an impressive performance.

After a slow start, Country Day sank ten 3-pointers.

Both teams opened in zone defensively and both teams had trouble shooting over the top in the opening quarter. Tulane football signee Justin Ibieta hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give Country Day a 7-6 lead. Ibieta had five points in the quarter.

Country Day went man-to-man and trapped full court in the second quarter and it worked to perfection, causing eight Jaguar turnovers and the Cajuns went on a decisive 23-0 run from the final basket of the first quarter until late in the second quarter to open up a 27-6 lead and led 34-10 at the half after closing the half on a 7-0 run.

“I thought our press was really effective,” Country Day coach Mike McGuire said. “It sped them up and it got us going. We shared the ball really well. I thought we had a ton of assists in that second quarter with 27 points so that was a nice effort. Hartson Moss had a super night. I thought everybody contributed.”

McGuire cleared the bench midway through the third quarter after the Cajuns opened the quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 43-10 lead. Connor Trahan hit a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter for Country Day and the Cajuns led 49-20 going to the final period.

Evan Nunez scored eight points in the fourth quarter for the Cajuns.

Moss led Country Day with 16 points, including four 3-pointers while Ibieta had 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Connor Trahan added eight points off the bench.

“My teammates were finding me wide open in the corner,” Moss said. “I’ve been in a slump recently, shooting wise, so it’s good to get a couple to go in. Last year, when we won state, we went into the playoffs on a 3-game losing streak. Even though our record is not that great right now, I feel we have confidence. We see improvement each week. We feel good about it.”

Corey Coleman Jr. led Martin Luther King Charter with 15 points and four rebounds with two steals. The Jaguars were plagued by 24 turnovers.

“Each week, we’ve gotten better,” McGuire said. “This is a big win. We’ve got to go to Jehovah on Saturday. That’s going to be a big game. Last week, we lost a close game to Hahnville. I know we’re getting better each week.”

Country Day (8-13) travels to Jehovah-Jireh Saturday at 5 p.m. while the Jaguars (9-15) will play at Crescent City Christian Thursday at 5 p.m.

“We can win a state championship,” Moss said. “We’ve just got to execute down the stretch.”

Final
CD 7 27 15 10 59
MLK 6 4 10 12 32

Scoring:

CD—Hartson Moss 16, Justin Ibieta 13, Evan Nunez 8, Connor Trahan 8, Gabe Kohlmaier 5, Xane Hunter 3, Aden Nora 2, Scott Isacks 2

MLK—Corey Coleman Jr. 15, John Holmes 4, Gardner 3, Jalen Warren 3, Donte’ Aquil 2, Natavian Stokes 2, Ruben Richardson 1