Landry-Walker battles past Ouachita in Class 5A boys basketball semifinals

LAKE CHARLES – With three state championships in the last four years, it is no surprise to see Landry-Walker back in the state final again.

The third-seeded Chargin Bucs fought off second-seed Ouachita Parish 60-57 Thursday night at Burton Coliseum.

First-year Landry-Walker head coach Wilfred Antoine said the familiarity of the situation and the location clearly benefited his team.

“This is like our second home,” Antoine said. “We come here every year for tournaments, we have been here on four different occasions.”

In a back-and-forth affair, Landry-Walker had the last run to provide the margin of victory.

“What you saw was we came out and threw the first punch, and they punched us back,” Antoine said. “We made the last run.”

Landry-Walker started fast, opening the game on a 6-0 run but the Lions closed the quarter on a 15-3 run to lead 15-9.

The Chargin’ Bucs came back to tie the game 25-25 at the half and took a 43-41 lead after three quarters.

Tied at 51-51, Landry-Walker had the decisive run, scoring six unanswered points and never trailed again.

After shooting poorly in the first half, the Chargin’ Bucs turned it up in the second half, shooting 57.8 percent from the field.

Sha’Don Green led Landry-Walker (26-6) with 14 points, including 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Dywan Griffin scored 11 points while Tory Cargo and Semaj Matthews each had 10 points.

Paul King topped Ouachita Parish (26-4) with 20 points while Willie Lapoole had 11. The Lions outrebounded Landry-Walker 32-28 but they committed 15 turnovers to 13 for the Chargin’ Bucs. Landry-Walker came up big from 3-point range, sinking 7-of-14 for 50 percent.

Ouachita Parish head coach Jeremy Madison gave Landry-Walker credit for the win, praising their effort while praising his own squad as well.

“We gave it all we had,” Madison said. “We just came up a little short. A couple of missed free throws here, missed shots around the basket there, loose balls went their way tonight.”

It will be the battle of Walker Saturday night at 8 p.m. for the 5A state championship.

The Chargin’ Bucs will battle fourth-seed Walker, who wiped out top-seed Natchitoches Central 89-63. A fourth title in five years will not come easily for the Chargin’ Bucs.

“We’ve got to carry the name, get that ring,” Green said.

Final

LW   9    16    18    17   — 60
OP   15   10   16    16   — 57

Scoring

LW—Sha’Don Green 14, Dywan Griffin 11, Tory Cargo 10, Semaj Matthews 10, Breshaun Delpit 7, Jason Joseph 6, Tyrus Crawford 2

OP—Paul King 20, Willie Lapoole 11, Elijah Hall 8, Kenderius Wallace 7, Datavion Kerry 6, Reginald Hill 5,

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