Pichon, Brother Martin too much for Woodlawn, 61-42

NEW ORLEANS – Stars shine brightest when their teams need them the most.

One of the things that Brother Martin has that made them successful all year long is that they do not just rely on one guy to go out there and get buckets. The Crusaders have four or five guys that can be called on to make buckets when it counts the most.

In a playoff opener though, Eli Pichon took over the game. Pichon had 28 points, 6 assists, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 6 three pointers to lead No. 11 seed Brother Martin to a wire-to-wire home win Friday night over No. 22 Woodlawn of Baton Rouge, 61-42.

The fourth quarter was when Brother Martin’s tempo seemed unstoppable and allowed them to cruise to the victory. The Crusaders forced six turnovers and outscored the Panthers 20-13 to close the game.

Brother Martin jumped up 13-0 to start the game. The defense set the tone to start the game with the Crusaders using a full court trap defense. The pressure affected Woodlawn, forcing them to turn the ball over five times. After the first quarter, Brother Martin led 20-8.

“We just wanted to come out and be really aggressive on defense,” Brother Martin head basketball coach Chris Biehl. “Which I thought the first four minutes were electric. Came out and hit some ill-advised shots early on and they went in which sometimes isn’t always the best thing. The Defense was exactly what I wanted, we haven’t played defense like that in awhile.”

The Panthers started full court pressing themselves by the second quarter, and Woodlawn outscored Brother Martin 10-6 to draw within eight at 26-18.

Despite Woodlawn’s ramped up pressure, Pichon had 18 points at halftime.

Hale Hankins recorded four points and a pair of steals to help Brother Martin stretch their lead again to 41-29 by the end of the third quarter.

“It’s no secret we have been fighting the flu bug, pretty badly. It felt like this week off, this week in between games has given us a chance to get healthy and we played with great energy tonight,” Biehl noted.

Brother Martin will look to rest up and prepare for next week’s Division I Select second round playoff game on the road at No. 6 Southwood.

Final
Woodlawn 8 10 11 13 – 42
Brother Martin 20 6 15 20 – 61

Scoring
Brother Martin: Eli Pichon 28, Hale hankins 10, Jake Klein 7, Chase Chesser 6, Kevin Marinello 4, Jacob Parenti 3, Jordan West 3
Woodlawn: Kelinee Stone 14, Tyler Knox 11, Christian Johnson 9, Roy Recasner III 3, Ahmad Price 2, Myron Nelson 2

Rebounds: Brother Martin 23, Woodlawn 26
Turnovers: Brother Martin 16, Woodlawn 19

Area Prep Basketball Playoff Results from Friday, Feb. 23
Non-Select Division I
(17) East St. John 71, (16) Airline 68 (OT)
(9) H.L. Bourgeois 67, (24) Central Lafourche 64
(5) Natchitoches Central 49, (28) Fontainebleau 47
(21) West Monroe 50, (12) Mandeville 40
(20) Terrebonne 59, (13) St. Amant 50
(7) Slidell 77, (26) Ouachita Parish 50
(10) Central 68, (23) Belle Chasse 32
(15) Live Oak 69, (18) Hahnville 45

Non-Select Division II
(16) South Beauregard 56, (17) Albany 51
(13) Jennings 72, (20) Franklinton 40
(11) Opelousas 52, (22) Loranger 37
(6) Bossier 62, (27) Ellender 36
(10) Lakeshore 64, (23) Lutcher 55

Non-Select Division III
(9) Doyle 84, (24) St. James 77
(8) Donaldsonville 68, (25) Avoyelles 36
(5) Madison 54, (28) Amite 48
(11) Loreauville 52, (22) Pine 49
(6) Marksville 64, (27) St. Helena 31
(10) Patterson 40, (23) West St. Mary 39

Division IV Non-Select
(5) North Central 72, (28) Kentwood 34
(11) South Plaquemines 69, (22) Logansport 41

Non-Select Division V
(12) Hicks 68, (21) Phoenix 66
(18) Holden 69, (15) Pitkin 62

Select Division I
(17) Bonnabel 70, (16) Huntington 58
(13) St. Paul’s 66, (20) Carencro 46
(14) McKinley 47, (19) Archbishop Rummel 31
(11) Brother Martin 61, (22) Woodlawn (BR) 42
(10) Scotlandville 65, (23) Warren Easton 60
(15) Catholic (BR) 52, (18) John Curtis Christian 38

Select Division II
(12) St. Michael 51, (21) Douglass 47
(19) De La Salle 38, (14) Bunkie 34
(23) E.D. White Catholic 47, (10) Evangel Christian 44
(18) John F. Kennedy 59, (15) David Thibodaux 50

Select Division III
(16) Thomas Jefferson 65, (17) Houma Christian 39
(9) Country Day 60, (24) Beekman Charter 27
(10) Parkview Baptist 56, (23) Patrick Taylor 24
(15) Pope John Paul II 62, (18) M.L. King Charter 45

Select Division IV
(21) Highland Baptist 52, (12) Covenant Christian 45
(15) Riverside Academy 75, (18) Cedar Creek 37

Select Division V
(5) Plainview 75, (12) Christ Episcopal 30