St. Augustine handles Catholic to reach state title game

NEW ORLEANS – Visiting Catholic High came out on fire against St. Augustine to start its Division I state semifinal contest.

It did not take long for the Purple Knights to douse the flames as they turned up the heat on both ends of the floor Tuesday evening for an impressive 83-67 victory over the Bears at Watson Jones Gymnasium.

The first quarter saw six lead changes and three ties with Catholic taking a 19-15 lead by the end of the period. The Bears made five 3-pointers, including three by Kentrell Garnett, who had nine points.

The hot shooting for Catholic subsided in the second quarter and the Purple Knights dominated the period to take a 35-27 lead by halftime.

St. Aug opened the quarter on a 9-0 run and closed the quarter on a 7-0 run. Jaron Pierre Jr. had six points in the quarter and nine in the half while D’Mari Wiltz had nine points and six assists. Garnett finished the half with 15 points for the Bears.

The surge continued for St. Augustine in the third quarter as the Purple Knights had an 8-0 run and took a 61-46 lead after three quarters. Ashton Trufant scored 11 points in the quarter, making three shots from 3-point range.

The Bears were never able to get closer than 15 points in the final quarter as the Purple Knights captured the victory.

“We had to settle down,” St. Augustine coach Mitchell Johnson said. “I knew this was going to be a hype game. I knew these teams would be ready to play. I knew Catholic was coming to play. Once we were able to get our composure, to focus and pay attention to defense, we were able to make the plays. D’Mari provides senior leadership. He has been that type of kid all year. He’s been plugging, keeping these guys in line. Jaron has been doing the same thing all year.”

Pierre Jr. finished with 19 points and six rebounds.

“They started fast but we picked up our intensity and started playing hard on both ends and we did what we had to do,” Pierre said. “The defensive part, we talked to each and we said ‘don’t back down.’ All of us played our parts. Me and D’Mari, every day, we are leading them. Whatever we do, they are going to follow us. We don’t want to mess up in practice and have them mess up. We are one game away from a championship.”

Wiltz controlled the game from the point with 18 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

“Coach told us and we listened to him and we got multiple stops,” Wiltz said. “We locked in on No. 2 (Garnett) and No. 4 (London Scott) and we controlled them the whole time. I trust my team and my team trusted me. We’ve got shooters. Jaron Pierre stepped up big and made multiple shots. They helped a lot and we executed.”

Jaheim Walters came off the bench to score 13 points and pull down seven rebounds with two steals. Trufant finished with his 11 third quarter points.

Garnett led Catholic (30-5) with 24 points while Scott battled foul trouble and finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Ian Cavana had 10 points and Caleb Warner had eight points and nine rebounds for the Bears. The Purple Knights won the battle of the boards 32-25.

St. Augustine (31-1) won its 26th straight game and advances to the Division I championship game for a second straight year. The Purple Knights will face the winner of No. 1 Scotlandville and No. 4 Brother Martin for the state championship. The Hornets and Crusaders play Wednesday night in Baton Rouge. St. Aug won the last of its five state titles in 2011.

Does Johnson feel this is a better team that the Purple Knight team that lost 73-53 in the final to Scotlandville a year ago?

“I just feel we are paying attention to detail now,” Johnson said. “I don’t know about comparing teams, but I like my group. One game at a time.”

Pierre is looking forward to whatever challenge awaits the Purple Knights in the final.

“It doesn’t matter who we play,” Pierre said. “I wouldn’t mind if it was Scotlandville. I want to see them.”

Wiltz feels St. Aug is on a mission.

“It felt good, last year we came up short,” Wiltz said. “This year, we plan on winning.”

Final
SA 15 20 26 22 83
CHS 19 8 19 21 67

Scoring:
SA—Jaron Pierre Jr. 19, D’Mari Wiltz 18, Jaheim Walters 13, Ashton Trufant 11, Nasir DeGruy 7, Jason Malbrue 7, Jaden Clark 6, Jason Malbrue 5, Preston Bax 2

CHS—Kentrell Garnett 24, London Scott 11, Ian Cavana 10, Caleb Warner 8, Peyton Worley 8, Harlan Hamilton 4, Shelton Sampson 2

LHSAA Prep Basketball Playoff Results from Tuesday, Mar. 10

Non-select semifinals at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles

2A–#1 Port Allen 74, #4 Lakeview 60

2A–#2 Rayville 90, #3 Red River 67

Class C–#4 Pleasant Hill 65, #1 Summerfield 58

Class C–#2 Hicks 50, #3 Simpson 43

Select semifinals

Division I–#2 St. Augustine 83, #3 Catholic (BR) 67

Division II–#1 St. Thomas More 61, #5 St. Louis Catholic 43

Division II–#2 University Lab 56, #3 De La Salle 55

Division III–#1 Dunham 59, #4 Newman 55

Division III–#3 Episcopal 51, #2 Lafayette Christian 41 (2 OT)

Division IV–#1 Crescent City Christian 67, #4 St. Mary’s 51

Division IV–#6 Calvary Baptist 56, #2 Hamilton Christian 44

Division V–#1 Jehovah-Jireh 65, #4 Episcopal of Acadiana 38

Division V–#2 Runnels 69, #3 Family Christian 68

LHSAA Prep Basketball Playoff Schedule for Wednesday, Mar. 11

Select semifinals

Division I—No. 4 Brother Martin at No. 1 Scotlandville, 7 p.m.

Non-Select semifinals at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles

3A–#2 Wossman vs. #3 Madison Prep, 1 p.m.

Class C–#1 Simsboro vs. #5 Pitkin, 2:45 p.m.

Class C–#2 Doyline vs. #3 JS Clark Leadership Academy, 4:30 p.m.

5A–#6 Alexandria at #10 Hahnville, 6:15 p.m.

5A–#4 Bonnabel vs. #9 Walker, 8 p.m.