Madison Prep pulls away late from cold-shooting Archbishop Shaw

LAKE CHARLES – Against a much longer, more talented, experienced team in two-time defending state champion Madison Prep, Archbishop Shaw needed to be at its very best and had to shoot it well.

The Eagles defended quite well but were far from their best and shot it poorly Thursday afternoon against the length of the Chargers.

Jayce Depron scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds with four assists to lead top seed Madison Prep to a 46-28 victory over fifth-seeded Shaw in the Select Division II semifinals at Burton Coliseum.

WATCH: Top-seed @MPABasketball defeats No. 5 @Archbishop_Shaw to advance to the Division II Select championship game to face winner of Carver-Peabody…

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While Madison Prep struggled much of the game from the field against a 2-3 zone of Shaw, the Eagles struggled all afternoon, unable to score.

The game was tied at 2-2 early before Madison Prep took a 6-2 lead and finished the opening quarter with an 8-6 lead. The Eagles were plagued by five turnovers in the quarter. Both teams shot poorly as Madison Prep wad 3 of 15 from the field while Shaw was just 1 of 10.

The second quarter was more of the same with both teams defending well and failing to make shots. The Chargers led 14-10 at the break, led by six points from Jayce Depron. Madison Prep finished the half 5 of 26 from the field while Shaw was just 3 of 22.

The Eagles pulled within a point at 19-18 in the third quarter but Madison Prep closed the quarter on a 9-1 run to take a 28-20 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Depron had seven points in the quarter.

Shaw (24-6) closed to 29-22 early in the fourth quarter but got no closer. The Chargers closed the game on a 13-4 run to pull away for the win.

Josh Smith had eight points and eight rebounds while Dylan Dominique had seven points, all from the free throw line for Madison Prep. Jamari Thigpen finished with six points, 10 rebounds and three steals.

Loyola commit Kam Johnson, in his final game at Shaw, scored 12 points with six rebounds while Xavier Meyers had six points for Shaw, which lost in the semifinals for the second straight season.

Both teams shot poorly throughout. Madison Prep shot 31 percent from the field (16 of 51) while Shaw shot just 23 percent (11 of 47). The two teams combined to go 0-for-26 from 3-point range with the Eagles missing all 14 attempts and the Chargers missing all 12.

Madison Prep (32-2) advances to the championship game Saturday at 4:45 p.m. against the winner of the game between No. 2 seed Peabody and No. 6 seed and defending Class 4A state champion Carver. The Chargers will be in search of a third straight state championship and their ninth in 11 seasons.

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FINAL
MPA 8 6 14 18 — 46
SHAW 6 4 10 8 — 28

Scoring:
MPA—Jayce Depron 19, Josh Smith 8, Dylan Dominique 7, Quentin Dabney 6, Jamari Thigpen 6
SHAW—Kam Johnson 12, Xavier Meyers 6, William Lewis 4, Aidan Lasalle 2, Christian Creppel 2, Allen Shaw 2

Rebounds:
MPA 40, Shaw 35

Turnovers:
MPA 5, Shaw 13

Assists:
MPA 7, Shaw 3

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— LHSAA (@LHSAAsports) March 9, 2023