Hahnville hit a bump in the road in early December, but the Tigers have bounced back to win two out of three games.
The Tigers defeated French Settlement at home, 70-60, and pushed past McDonogh No. 35 80-68 on the road. Hahnville at Slidell 47-39 on Friday.
Cobe Landry and Kaden Downing have led the Tigers in scoring over that stretch, with Landry averaging 14 points per game and Downing 11.
Hahnville began the season with four wins in a row, but a loss to Crescent City on Nov. 29 began a slump of eight losses in nine games against several of the state’s stronger teams, including Jesuit, Hannan and Catholic-Baton Rouge. But the two victories to end the year could be a momentum builder for a team meshing together after some key departures from a season ago.
“Against McDonogh 35, we shot it really well,” said Hahnville head coach Erica Randolph, alluding to the Tigers’ 65 percent clip from the field on the night. “We really pushed the tempo in that game, and against French Settlement we had a good night as well, jumping out and maintaining from there. That was a really good test from a well-coached team and I was pleased with how we played.”
That said, Randolph said there’s a much higher ceiling she believes this team can rise to.
“I don’t think we’ve reached our peak or even close,” she said.
The biggest shift that could help immediately is better execution at the end of tight games, something she said has to come from experience.
“How to close games out, how to maintain a lead … we’ve been working out our lineup chemistry,” Randolph said. “We need to keep improving, be able to control the tempo in those situations and be able to finish strong.”
A major bright spot for Hahnville this season has been the play of Jamal Moore, who transferred to HHS along with brother Jordan before the 2023-24 school year.
That was Jordan’s senior year – he’s since moved on to the college level after a very strong final prep season, now in his freshman season with Bishop State. This is Jamal’s senior year now, and after a brief adjustment period, Randolph says Moore has really embraced his larger role this season.
More impressively – last year was Moore’s first season of organized basketball at any level, Randolph noted.
“To see him come as far as he has in such a short amount of time, it’s phenomenal,” Randolph said. “He’s gained so much confidence. And you know, it took a couple of games for him to kind of realize big brother isn’t out there. We had to have that conversation … it was Batman and Robin – you aren’t Robin this year. We need you to remember who we know you are on the court,” Randolph said.
Moore has averaged a double-double this season and has been a standout defensively for Hahnville.
“He brings the intangibles you need to win games,” Randolph said.
Freshman Kaden Downing has continued his strong freshman season – and another freshman has made an impact alongside him as well. First year guard Lionel Irons has already taken on big responsibility on the defensive end.
“We go to him to lock down the other team’s best offensive player,” said Randolph. He’s very poised for a freshman – both guys are. You’d never know this was their first season when you see how they work in high pressure situations.”
