Magical ride continues as Northshore downs Walker to reach first state hoops final

LAKE CHARLES – The magical mystery tour of a road trip is nearly complete for Northshore but there is one more long back-and-forth drive to make.

The Panthers surely do not care.

After making winning drives to Shreveport and Ruston, the 11th-seeded Panthers continued to be road warriors, downing perennial power and No. 7 Walker 68-54 in the Class 5A semifinals at Burton Coliseum Wednesday night.

The Panthers will play for a state championship in basketball for the first time Saturday night as a result.

The first half was competitive, back-and-forth with five lead changes and three ties.

The first quarter was all about Warren Young Jr.

After trailing 4-0, Walker went on a 12-2 run to take a 12-6 lead and carried a 16-12 lead into the second quarter on the strength of 10 points from Young, including a trio of 3-pointers.

After Walker expanded its lead to 21-14 early in the second quarter, Northshore went on a 7-0 run to tie it and the Panthers closed the half on a 9-4 run to take a 30-25 lead. Kohen Rowbatham buried a 34-footer, straight away, at the buzzer. He finished the half with nine points.

That would be the only 3-pointer made by the Panthers in the game.

James Bridges carried the load with 13 points for Northshore while Young had 12 points, including four 3-pointers for the Wildcats.

The Panthers controlled the third quarter, outscoring Walker 18-11 as Bridges had 10 points. Northshore had an 8-0 run in the quarter and led 48-36 going to the final quarter.

The Wildcats applied full court pressure and forced turnovers in the fourth quarter and pulled within 52-47 but Northshore righted the ship with a 5-0 run to retake control and closed the game on a 5-0 run.

Bridges was huge, scoring 25 points with 10 rebounds while Rowbatham had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Fabian Hartley Jr. was outstanding as well with 13 points and 16 rebounds.

Young carried Walker with 28 points, including 5 of 11 from 3-point range and he added 10 rebounds. Donald Butler finished with 11 points, six rebounds and three steals.

The Wildcats hurt themselves by making only 14 of 28 free throw attempts and shot just 34 percent from the field with the Northshore defense playing a big role.

Northshore (26-6) will make one more long drive, advancing to the championship game to face top seed Zachary Saturday at 8 p.m. The Broncos downed No. 5 Ouachita Parish 75-60.

The Panthers won’t mind piling on the miles to go down the road one more time and they hope to make it a memorable ride back to Slidell.

FINAL
Walker 16 9 11 18 — 54
Northshore 12 18 18 20 — 68

Scoring:
Walker—Warren Young jr. 28, Donald Butler 11, Ja’Cory Thomas 7, Kedric Brown 4, PJ Scott 3, KJ Smith-Johnson 1

Northshore—James Bridges 25, Kohen Rowbatham 20, Fabian Hartley Jr. 13, Tyrell Yates-Robertson 4, Landon Renz 4, Dawson Knox 2

Rebounds:
Walker 33
Northshore 51

Turnovers:
Walker 14
Northshore 14