A spirited second-half rally saw No. 22 seeded Hahnville on the verge of an upset of No. 11 South Lafourche in the opening round of the Division I non-select playoffs, but a late steal provided the lift the Tarpons needed to ultimately eliminate the Tigers.
South Lafourche advanced to round two via a 63-59 victory over Hahnville, which trailed by 10 entering the fourth quarter before taking a 1-point lead late. But a steal by Carter Cantrelle ignited the Tarpons to retake the lead – and ramped up the home playoff crowd – and Hahnville couldn’t recover.
“We showed some resiliency,” said Hahnville head coach Erica Randolph. “We turned it over late and that kind of deflated us, got their crowd going … we just couldn’t rally.”
Eli Harris scored 13 and Calvin Smith 11 to lead Hahnville.
South Lafourche’s Terrance Pitre scored a game-high 35 to key his team in the win.
Randolph said the Tigers took some tough shots early in the game – just three minutes in, Hahnville had to go to the bench due to foul trouble.
“We had two with two fouls and five minutes left in the first quarter, so we leaned on our role players,” said Randolph. “But we battled back.”
South Lafourche (21-6) advanced to round two, but fell to Ruston.
For Hahnville, the loss was a tough way to finish a season that saw the Tigers go 14-15 against a difficult schedule that made for a battle-tested group entering the postseason – and one playing its best basketball entering the playoff fray. The loss at South Lafourche snapped what was a five-game winning streak for Hahnville, including wins over rivals East St. John and Destrehan to close the season.
Randolph said the season was challenging at times, but that she was encouraged at how the team rounded into form late in the year. “We had to figure some things out and see where the puzzle pieces fit … I’m pleased with the way we progressed down the stretch. Making the playoffs in 5A is never a given … obviously, we’d like to advance, but there’s a lot to build on.
“We have a big senior class, and their leadership is going to stick with our younger players as they go forward,” Randolph said. “We’ll be extremely young next year, but talented.”
Freshmen Kaden Downing and Lionel Irons are two members of that promising young group of returning Tigers. Randolph said neither was intimidated at all by the playoff atmosphere in their initial taste of the postseason.
“We dressed four freshman – you want them to know what playoff ball looks like, sounds like and how you need to control your emotions in that environment,” said Randolph. “(Downing and Irons) came to play. They showed a lot of poise, and asking 14- and 15-year-olds to respond in that kind of environment is a big ask. The way they performed let me know Hahnville basketball is in excellent hands.”
