Plaquemine cruises past Beau Chene to open boys basketball playoffs

BATON ROUGE- The 2019 LHSAA Boys Basketball Playoffs started this week with many teams wanting to punch their ticket to the 2019 LHSAA State Basketball Championships, aka “Marsh Madness” in Lake Charles in two weeks. One team that hasn’t been there in 10 years is the seventh-seeded Plaquemine Green Devils who entered the Class 4A playoffs as district champions.

In action Friday night, the Green Devils hosted the No. 26 seed Beau Chene. It looked to be anyone’s game to start but that quickly changed with a 9-0 run by Plaquemine in the second quarter that helped fuels a 71-47 victory over the Gators in the first-round contest.

KJ Barber’s basket with 4:00 to play in the opening quarter started a 6-0 run to give Plaquemine a 12-6 lead but te Gators broke the run with a bucket by De’vondrake Arvie with just under two minutes to play to fuel a rally to within 14-13 of the Green Devils at the close of the first quarter.

Beau Chene had a brief lead 17-14 with 7:15 to go in the first half before Plaquemine responded with a 3 pointer by Jazz Provo. then came the 9-0 run started by a Provo basket with 5:05 to play in the half. Provo continued to shine in the period, helping the Green Devils to a 35-23 halftime advantage over the Gators.

Davonte Russ helped continue the Plaquemine surge early in the third with multiple score to extend the lead to 41-23. The Green Devils took a 51-33 edge to the final period and cruised to the playoff triumph.

“The game was a little tough for us at first but we came back and attacked the basket. We were able to make key conversions in transition,” said Plaquemine head coach Donald Ray Johnson.

Plaquemine was led by four players in double figures topped by Jazz Provo with 18 points while D.T. Wicks added 15 points, Davonte Russ had 14 points and K.J. Barber notched 12 points.

Beau Chene was led by De’Marcus Eaglin with 12 points and Devin Milton with 10.

“We look forward to playing Salmen. They have a great tradition and are well coached,” said Johnson.

Plaquemine will next host the No. 10 seeded Spartans, who defeated No. 23 seed Edna Karr in overtime, 55-52.

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