Lafayette Christian overcomes Beattie, Hannan to advance to Sugar Bowl state final

WESTWEGO – Two-time defending Division IV state champion Lafayette Christian entered the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic State Bracket as a favorite in the eight-team field.

The Knights will have a shot to uphold their lofty status Saturday after dismissing Archbishop Hannan 44-39 in the semifinals Friday afternoon at the Alario Center.

The Knights jumped out quickly to an 8-0 run before the Hawks found their footing and scored the 10 of the final 13 points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 11-10 after one period.

LCA had the final run in a closely contested second quarter to take a 21-17 lead at halftime despite 13 points by Shawn Beattie of Hannan.

The Knights created space in the third quarter behind eight points by BJ Francis, going on an 8-0 run and took a 37-25 lead going to the final quarter.

Hannan opened the final quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 37-32 and the Hawks were able to pull within three at 40-37 but would get no closer.

BJ Francis led the Knights (15-3) with 14 points and five rebounds while TJ Jones finished with nine points and five rebounds. Jarian Howard finished with seven points and 10 rebounds. Beattie led the Hawks (11-7) with 22 points while Jordan Martin had six points and five rebounds.

Lafayette Christian advances to the championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. against Landry-Walker, who defeated Crescent City Christian 53-48. You can watch the game live at CrescentCitySports.com.

Final
LCA 11 10 16 7 44
Hannan 10 7 8 14 39

Scoring
LCA
BJ Francis 14, TJ Jones 9, Jarian Howard 7, Pierre Dupre 6, Victor Dupre 6, Princeton Malbrue 2

Hannan
Shawn Beattie 22, Jordan Martin 6, Ben Hundley 3, London Neal 3, Mason Seariano

Rebounds
LCA 28, Hannan 20

Turnovers
LCA 7, Hannan 9