A late Destrehan rally came up short Tuesday night as the No. 13 seeded Wildcats fell at No. 4 Denham Springs, 58-55, in the second round of the Division I non-select playoffs.
Trevez Walker led Destrehan with 20 points on a night Destreham charged ahead by double figures before Denham turned the game around after halftime and took its own 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. Destrehan fought back but could not quite close the gap completely in the final minutes.
“We started pretty well, controlled the first half,” said Destrehan head coach Khary Carrell. “In the second half, we just weren’t able to take care of the ball as consistently. We had some costly turnovers. They got some easy baskets and it added up against us.”
Denham Springs advanced to the quarterfinal round to face No. 12 Neville.
For Destrehan (22-10), it brought an end to a breakthrough season that saw the
Wildcats win District 8-5A and earn a home playoff game in round one – just two years after winning just two games in the 2023-24 season.
A DHS team fueled by upperclassmen battled back from that low point and its seniors went down fighting in their final game.
“I knew it would take a little time of working with them, but that this group could win and put a really good product on the floor,” said Carrell. “I’m thankful to have had the chance to coach these kids. These seniors laid the foundation. Four years ago they were freshmen. They believed – if they locked in, bought in, we would see better days.
“Unfortunately, (Tuesday night), somebody has to win and somebody has to lose. We took the four-seed down to the wire … we showed we belonged there.”
