Country Day, St. Thomas More advance to Country Day Classic final

It will be a pair of perennial powers and multiple state champions squaring off Friday for the championship of the 20th Annual Country Day Classic.

Host Country Day will meet St. Thomas More in the title game at 6 p.m.

The Cajuns advanced with a 56-49 victory over Archbishop Shaw.

The difference was on the board where Country Day absolutely dominated Shaw by a 30-14 margin and a cold shooting night by the Eagles proved to be too much to overcome.

Two players made the difference for the Cajuns as Cam Terrell scored 19 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and Jordan Trahan had 15 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.

Shaw led 5-0 and led for the final time at 11-9 before Country Day closed the first quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 lead. The Eagles would not lead again.

After Shaw tied the game 17-17 early in the second quarter, Country Day (11-2) closed the quarter on a 10-4 run to take a 27-21 lead by halftime.

The Eagles (11-2) pulled within 31-27 in the third quarter but the Cajuns went on a 9-0 run to take a 39-30 lead.

Shaw pulled within six points twice in the fourth quarter but got no closer.

Brennan White added a trio of 3-pointers for nine points for Country Day.

Kameron Johnson led Shaw with 20 points while Christian Creppel had eight points and five rebounds.

In the nightcap, St. Thomas More overcame a halftime deficit to down Archbishop Rummel 69-55.

The Raiders (10-4) took the fight to the Cougars early, jumping out to a 12-6 lead and the Raiders maintained a 16-14 lead after one quarter.

St. Thomas More went on a 9-0 run to grab a 26-20 second quarter lead but Rummel responded with a pair of 5-0 runs, the second of which closed the half to take a 33-32 halftime lead.

The Cougars (12-2) showed their versatility and depth in the second half, simply wearing down a very game, hard playing Rummel squad, outscoring the Raiders 26-12 in the third quarter to take a 58-45 lead going to the final quarter and St. Thomas More was not threatened the rest of the way.

Michael Mouton continued his outstanding tournament, scoring 24 points with eight rebounds. Mason Guillroy added 15 points and Monwell Willis contributed 11 points.

The loss snapped an 8-game win streak for Rummel.

The Raiders will face Shaw in the third place game at 4:30 p.m. Friday as all games were moved up Friday in an attempt to deal with very cold weather late Friday.

You can watch both the third place and championship games live at Crescent City Sports.

FINAL
MPCD 15 12 12 17 — 56
SHAW 11 10 9 19 — 49

Scoring:
MPCD—Cam Terrell 19, Jordan Trahan 15, Brennan White 9, Andrew Nelson 5, Jake Ibieta 4, Maddox Moss 3, Phillip Antis 1

SHAW—Kameron Johnson 20, Christian Creppel 8, Aidan LaSalle 7, Xavier Meyers 5, Khalil Awogboro 3, Mike Williams 2, William Lewis Jr. 2, Jayden Scott 2

FINAL
STM 14 18 26 11 69
RUM 16 17 12 10 55

Scoring:
STM—Michael Mouton 24, Mason Guillory 15, Monwell Willis 11, Chad Jones 9, Peyton Pratt 6, Elijah Guidry 2, Anthony Angelle 2

RUM—Ja’Mard Jones 17, Chase Marino 14, Darrius Davis 11, Chance Joseph 5, Denim Smith 3, Tim Duhe 2

Area Prep Basketball Scores from Thursday, Dec. 22
Boys
Country Day Classic
Country Day 56, Archbishop Shaw 49
St. Thomas More 69, Archbishop Rummel 55
John Curtis Christian 76, White Castle 45
John F. Kennedy 65, Douglass 51
Karr 66, St. Martin’s Episcopal 50
Sophie B. Wright 45, The Willow School 42
St. Louis Catholic 44, Northlake Christian 30
St. Thomas Aquinas 66, Grace King 20

Others:
Bonnabel 82, Covington 70
Denham Springs 74, Albany 29
Fontainebleau 69, Pearl River 66
French Settlement 69, West Feliciana 47
Hahnville 69, University Lab 54
Hammond 58, Thibodaux 40
Lakeshore 84, Salmen 81
Madison Prep 70, Brother Martin 45
Patrick Taylor 37, Christ Episcopal 28
Ponchatoula 84, Walker 65
Sam Houston 34, Chalmette 28
St. Paul’s 69, St. Charles Catholic 49

Girls
Ben Franklin 62, Phoenix 37
Chalmette 39, Dominican 38
Mandeville 58, Bogalusa 33
Northshore 59, Cabrini 27
St. Helena 44, Collegiate (BR) 15
St. Scholastica 48, Pearl River 34
Teurlings Catholic 60, Northlake Christian 21
Zachary 51, Warren Easton 42