A desperation heave by New Iberia fell short of the basket and Destrehan players and fans erupted in celebration – a celebration that just moments earlier seemed so very unlikely.
The No. 13 seeded Wildcats defeated visiting No. 20 New Iberia, 59-58, in the opening round of the Division I non-select playoffs on Friday night. It was more dramatic than even that tight score would indicate: Destrehan trailed 56-49 with two minutes remaining before rallying back from the brink to win.
Kolby Payton scored a game-high 24 points to lead Destrehan. Keenan Brown scored 12 and Iven McGee added 11.
Of those 24 points, though, Payton will always surely remember the final two the most. He played the hero on this night, drawing a foul with 2.2 seconds remaining before calmly sinking two free throws at the line to put his team up by one.
“I knew I had to do it for my team – make these shots and win the game,” said Payton. “It’s a great experience. I’m happy, the team’s happy, our coach’s happy … it’s a good feeling. We’re all happy – but the job’s not done. We’ve got another game to play now.”
Destrehan (22-9) advances to the second round where it will travel to face No. 4 Denham Springs at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, with a trip to the quarterfinals on the line.
Friday night’s win was Destrehan head coach Khary Carrell’s first playoff victory as head coach of the program and the Wildcat boys’ first playoff victory since 2022.
The Wildcats are blistering hot over the second half of the season, winners of 15 of their last 16 games.
For New Iberia (13-13), Trelon Lively led the way with 13 points. Myles Jones and Kaden Johnson each added 10.
Destrehan already had wiped away one deficit in the fourth quarter – it trailed by eight points entering the final period, but clawed back to tie the game at 45 on a Payton basket. The Wildcats were making a big impact on the offensive boards in the comeback, and a McGee offensive rebound gave the team an extra chance on that possession.
But with the score tied 49-49, the game took a turn for the worse for Destrehan – and, seemingly with it, its season. Three consecutive turnovers each led to baskets for New Iberia, including five points by Lively, and Destrehan trailed 56-49 with just two minutes left.
Destrehan needed to make plays – in a hurry – and that began with a Drake Jamieson corner 3-pointer off of a drive and kick by McGee to make it 56-52. Destrehan got a steal on the ensuing possession and McGee drew a foul and made two free throws. Now down by just two, Destrehan made another defensive play when Jamieson picked off a pass – he would get fouled and make one-of-two at the line with 55 seconds left.
Yet another DHS steal led to a Payton layup – and Destrehan finally had the lead.
“In the huddle, we’re saying, ‘Yeah, we know what we just did – but we’ve gotta keep fighting,’” Payton said.
New Iberia answered, scoring on an inbounds pass to a cutting Lively, who scored with 24 seconds remaining to put his team back up 1, 58-57.
Destrehan needed a response – and as they had all fourth quarter, did it through hard work in the rebounding game, with another offensive rebound leading to Payton drawing a foul inside – and splashing the eventual game-winning free throws.
New Iberia led 24-23 at halftime.
“We talk about having the will to win – how desperate are you to win? Can you make winning plays?” said Destrehan head coach Khary Carrell. “And down the stretch, that’s exactly what we talked about – we made some mistakes. We have to eat that. That’s our fault. So, we’ve got to go make some winning plays right now.”
Carrell said his players were more than ready to respond.
“In the fourth quarter, they stepped up to the challenge,” Carrell said.
He praised Payton for likewise being ready to deliver in one of the biggest pressure spots there is, needing to hit those free throws with the game on the line.
“The weight of the world’s on your shoulders. You’ve got to step up and do it for your team,” said Carrell. “We need our senior to deliver in that moment. He took on that pressure and he responded.”
While that senior indeed responded, a sophomore brought a vital spark to Destrehan. McGee came off the bench to make numerous plays in the second half and keep his team alive.
“We had to fight back strong … we were down. We’d made a lot of mistakes,” McGee said. “I just knew I had to come out and ball for my team. And we did what we had to do to get back up.”
Carrell said McGee brought exactly what the team needed – and just when they needed it.
“He played tenacious defense … I just felt that he brought the energy. When your number’s called, you’ve got to be ready to respond. I called his number, and he responded,” said Carrell. “He made it happen. He’s going to be something special … he played like a veteran tonight.”
