John Curtis, Holy Cross, St. Paul’s advance to state boys basketballl quarterfinals

The record may not reflect it but John Curtis Christian may be coming of age on the hardwood.

The No. 10 seed Patriots overcame a slow start Tuesday evening to upset No. 7 McKinley 64-51 in Baton Rouge.

The game was tied 18-18 at halftime. The Patriots went on a 10-0 run in the third quarter which proved decisive.

Buddy Taylor led Curtis with 26 points while four others scored nine points for the Patriots.

Curtis coach Mike Kracjer feels his young team is coming of age at the right time.

“This is turning into the most rounded teams since we won a state title in 2012,” Kracjer said. “They are sharing the ball, they like each other, they are sophomores and they are fun to coach and to watch play. We start three sophomores and play five sophomores overall. At one time, all five sophomores were on the floor at the same time.”

The Panthers took a 14-10 lead after one quarter but the game was tied 18-18 by halftime. Curtis dominated the third quarter, which turned out to be the difference, outscoring McKinley 21-9 to take a 39-27 lead going to the fourth quarter and the Patriots maintained the advantage in the final quarter for the victory.

John Curtis (10-19) advances to the quarterfinals to face Catholic League rival and No. 2 St. Augustine at St. Aug. Friday night. The Purple Knights (29-1) swept the Patriots in District 9-5A play by scores of 63-55 and 66-53.

“We cannot come out and fall behind by 10 points like we did in both games against them,” Kracjer said. “They are a very talented team. They have a dynamite point guard (No. 10). He would be the one I would take of any other player in the league. He is a floor general, a nice player. He knows what to do with the ball. We have to deny him the ball as much as possible.”

The Panthers finished 21-13.

No. 5 Holy Cross shook off the cobwebs of inactivity to overcome a very poor start, rallying to down No. 12 Byrd 58-46 in Gentilly.

Byrd took an early 13-10 lead after one quarter before expanding the lead to 27-16 by halftime as things looked bad for the home team.

It was a different story in the second half.

The Tigers blitzed Byrd 22-8 in the third quarter and outscored the Yellow Jackets 20-11 in the final quarter for the win.

Jeremy Lindsey led the Tigers with 15 points while Donnell Byrd had 14 and Miles Metze finished with 11 points.

“It was two different games,” Holy Cross coach Mister Kirkwood said. “If you saw us in the first half, you would have scratched your head. If you saw us in the second half, you would have said ‘wow.’ We missed 11 free throws in the first half. The system again hurts. The layoff is hard to overcome. We had not played a game since Feb. 21 when we beat Rummel. It is hard to stay sharp. It’s no excuse but it affects what you do.”

The Tigers (22-11) advance to face a familiar foe in No. 4 Brother Martin Friday at 7 p.m. at Conlin Gym. The two teams split two regular season games. The Yellow Jackets finished the season 13-15.

“There are no secrets between Brother Martin and us,” Kirkwood said. “We cannot have a slow start. The second time we faced them, we fell behind early. We cannot have the turnovers we had last time and we have to make free throws in what figures to be a close game. Both teams will be well prepared. I think it will be one of the better games around. People better get out there to see it.”

In Covington, No. 6 St. Paul’s led from start to finish in a 75-58 victory over No. 11 Archbishop Rummel.

The Wolves led 22-14 after one quarter and 38-30 by halftime. It was 62-43 after three quarters.

The dymanic duo of Dylan Dimitrios and Evan Seicshnaydre combined for 51 points with Dimitros pumping in 26 points while Seicshnaydre had 25 points for the Wolves.

Colby Barrois led Rummel with 25 points, Kade Rivera scored 12 and Garret Schmitt had 11 points for the Raiders (14-17), who dropped nine straight games to end the season.

St. Paul’s (26-9) advances to the quarterfinals to play at No. 3 Catholic of Baton Rouge.

LHSAA Boys State Playoff Results from Monday, March 2

5A

No. 2 Ouachita Parish 54, No. 15 Southwood 43

Class B

#1 Simsboro 102, #17 Florien 61

No. 9 Fairview 67, No. 8 Elizabeth 58

Division I

#5 Holy Cross 58, #12 Byrd 46

#6 St. Paul’s 75, #11 Archbishop Rummel 58

#10 John Curtis Christian 64, #7 McKinley 51

Division III

No. 3 Episcopal 83, #14 Pope John Paul 27

LHSAA Boys Prep Basketball Playoff Schedule for Tuesday, Mar. 3

5A

#16 H.L. Bourgeois at No. 1 Natchitoches Central, 6:30 p.m.

#9 Walker at No. 8 Comeaux, 7 p.m.

#12 Zachary at #5 Lafayette, 6:30 p.m.

#13 East Ascension at #4 Bonnabel, 7 p.m.

#14 New Iberia at #3 New Iberia, 7 p.m.

#11 Captain Shreve at #6 Alexandria, 6:30 p.m.

#10 Hahnville at #7 Ponchatoula, 7 p.m. live at CrescentCitySports.com

#15 Southwood at #2 Ouachita Parish, 6:30 p.m.

4A

#1 Peabody at #17 Carencro, 6:30 p.m.

#9 McMain at #25 Beau Chene, 6:30 p.m.

#12 Opelousas at #5 Woodlawn (SH), 6 p.m.

#13 Helen Cox at #29 Cecilia, 7 p.m.

#14 Plaquemine at #3 Huntington, 7 p.m.

#6 Carver at No. 11 B.T. Washington (SH), 6 p.m.

#7 Salmen at #23 Warren Easton, 7 p.m.

#2 Breaux Bridge at #18 Ellender, 7 p.m.

3A

#1 Bossier at #17 Crowley, 7 p.m.

#9 Richwood at #8 Patterson, 6 p.m.

#12 Ville Platte at #5 B.T. Washington (NO), 7 p.m.

#13 Marksville at #4 Brusly, 7 p.m.

#14 Iowa at #3 Madison Prep, 7 p.m.

#11 Sophie B. Wright at #6 Jena, 6 p.m.

#10 St. Martinville at #7 Lutcher, 6:30 p.m.

#15 Northwest at #2 Wossman, 6:30 p.m.

2A

#16 West St. Mary at #1 Port Allen, 6:30 p.m.

#8 Lake Arthur at #24 Amite, 6:30 p.m.

#12 Bunkie at #5 Franklin, 7 p.m.

#4 Lakeview at #20 Ferriday, 6 p.m. at Ferriday Jr. High Gym

#14 Avoyelles at #3 Red River, 6 p.m.

#6 Madison at #22 Pickering, 7 p.m.

#10 Jonesboro-Hodge at #7 Doyle, 7 p.m. at Doyle Elementary

#2 Rayville at #18 Mangham, 7 p.m.

1A

#16 Plain Dealing at #1 North Central, 6 p.m.

#9 Delhi at #8 White Castle, 7 p.m.

#12 West St. John at #5 Oak Grove, 7 p.m.

#13 Elton at #4 Tensas, 6 p.m. at Newellton Gym

#14 Northwood-Lena at #3 Lincoln Prep, 6 p.m.

#11 Homer at #6 East Iberville, 6:30 p.m.

#10 Arcadia at #7 Logansport, 6:30 p.m.

#18 Block at #2 Grand Lake, 6:30 p.m.

Class B

#9 Fairview at #8 Elizabeth, 6 p.m.

#12 Quitman at #5 Pitkin, 6 p.m.

#13 Anacoco at #4 Zwolle, 6:30 p.m.

#3 Hathaway at #19 Bell City, 6:30 p.m.

#11 Midland at #6 J.S. Clark Leadership Academy, 6:30 p.m.

#7 Monterey at #23 Stanley, 6 p.m.

#15 Mount Hermon at No. 2 Doyline, 6:30 p.m.

Class C

#16 Georgetown at #1 Summerfield, 6 p.m.

#9 Ebarb at #8 Atlanta, 6 p.m.

#12 Gibsland-Coleman at #5 Phoenix, 6 p.m.

#13 Starks at #4 Pleasant Hill, 6 p.m.

#14 Kilbourne at #3 Hornbeck, 6 p.m.

#10 Epps at #7 Calvin, 6 p.m.

#15 Hackberry at #2 Epps, 6 p.m.

Division I

#9 Jesuit at #8 Archbishop Shaw, 7 p.m.

Division II

#16 Vandebilt Catholic at #1 St. Thomas More, 6 p.m.

#9 Thomas Jefferson at #8 St. Michael, 6:30 p.m.

#12 Teurlings Catholic at #5 St. Louis Catholic, 7 p.m.

#13 Lusher Charter at #4 Lee Magnet, 6:30 p.m.

#14 David Thibodaux at #3 De La Salle, 6 p.m.

#11 Archbishop Hannan at #6 E.D. White Catholic, 6:30 p.m.

#10 Loyola Prep at #7 Parkview Baptist, 5 p.m.

#15 Ben Franklin at #2 University Lab, 6 p.m.

Division III

#9 Notre Dame at #8 Catholic (NI), 7 p.m.

#12 Houma Christian at #5 Newman, 6 p.m.

#13 Cristo Rey at #4 Holy Savior Menard, 6 p.m.

Division IV

#9 Central Catholic at #8 Riverside Academy, 6:30 p.m.

#13 St. Martin’s Episcopal at No. 4 St. Mary’s, 6:30 p.m.

#11 Vermilion Catholic at No. 6 Calvary Baptist, 6 p.m.

#10 Ascension Catholic at #7 Country Day, 7 p.m.

#15 St. John at #2 Hamilton Christian, 6:30 p.m.

Division V

#11 St. Joseph’s Plaucheville at No. 6 New Living Word, 6 p.m.