May 4, 2005

Montgomery, Humphrey, Strickland receive Parish Boys Basketball Awards

By Eric LeBlanc
Sports Editor
(Photos by ERIC LEBLANC)

The Hahnville Tigers won the district this year while the Destrehan Wildcats joined them in the playoffs as a wild card. After a very successful season for both teams. The St. Charles Herald-Guide would like to recognize the accomplishments of a few outstanding players. Every player on these two teams deserves praise, but these three players stood out above the rest as deserving of our Parish MVP, Runner-Up and Player of the Future awards.

The winners are:

Boys Basketball MVP: Trey Montgomery

Playing behind former Wildcat stars like Mark Stewart, Jaszmine Eugene and Chris Moore was a learning experience for Trey Montgomery. And this past season, he put that into practice as the leader of the Wildcats who took fourth place in district and a wild card spot in the state playoffs.

Montgomery averaged 13.2 points per game this season and six rebounds per game. He was also named to the All-District First Team and the All-River Parishes Team. A few weeks ago, he also signed a letter of intent to play college basketball for Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

Also excelling in academics, the six foot, four senior posted a 3.1724 cumulative grade point average this year.

With his talent, Montgomery should continue his success at Samford and the Herald-Guide will track that success.

Boys Basketball Runner-Up: Irvin Humphrey

Rebounding is the key to winning close basketball games, and the Hahnville Tigers featured some of the best rebounders in the metro area this past season. But leading those was Irvin Humphrey.

Humphrey averaged 12 points per game while bringing down 13 rebounds per game as well. He led a Tiger team that steamrolled through the district schedule and took the district title.

Surrounded by talented athletes, Humphrey stood out as a consistent performer and a team leader. That was especially evident in the team’s playoff loss to Slidell when he led the team with 20 points and 16 rebounds. He led the Tigers to a 21-point comeback during the game.

With all three of Hahnville’s big men returning as well as guards Reginald Lumar and Singleton, the Tigers should be favored to claim back-to-back district titles.

Boys Basketball Player of the Future: McAuther Strickland

The Hahnville Tigers already had a lot of height in their starting lineup with the six foot, five inch Irvin Humphrey and Kentrell Lockett. But adding the six foot, three inch McAuther Strickland into the mix this season gave the Tigers a dominating presence on the boards.

Although not a starter in most games, Strickland made his presence felt during the time he was in the game. One of those instances was when Strickland got off a last-second buzzer-beater to give the Tigers a victory over Thibodaux and clinch the district title.

One of the other highlights of Strickland’s season was in the playoff loss to Slidell when he was one of three Tigers to post a double-double, scoring 15 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.

And with Strickland being just a sophomore, he should continue to dazzle Tiger fans for the next two years.

Eric LeBlanc can be reached at EricL@heraldguide.com or at (985) 758-2795, ext. 219.