A thunderous one-handed slam dunk by Hahnville freshman Kaden Downing brought the Tiger fans to their feet and all but punctuated a rivalry victory for their team.
Hahnville scored a 53-45 victory on the road at Destrehan Tuesday night in the latest chapter of the Battle on the River rivalry, earning the Tigers some momentum with the playoffs around the corner. Meanwhile, it puts Destrehan in a must-win scenario Friday night at Thibodaux as the Wildcats attempt to reach the postseason.
The Tigers were led by Jamal Moore’s 12 points – all coming in the third quarter.
Playing the rivalry game always brings out the best in the players on the court, Moore said.
“The crowd gives us energy,” Moore said. “They hype us up and give us that drive, gives you that sense that you’re playing for something. (Destrehan) felt like they needed to win here because they’re at home, but we wanted to show that we’re gonna win either way it goes. The (rivalry game) atmosphere is amazing. It really gives you that adrenaline rush.”
Cobe Landry scored 10 and Downing and Lionel Irons each added 9 for Hahnville. Destrehan’s Charlie Triggs scored a game-high 22. Kolby Payton scored 9. Cayden Coleman added 5 and Koby Llewellyn 4.
Hahnville (14-15, 4-2) led 39-31 heading into the fourth quarter. And just days after the NBA’s 3-point shootout, the rival teams showed off their marksmanship to begin the fourth, trading long range buckers. Downing sank a 3 to push Hahnville ahead 42-33, then Payton answered with his own connection from deep. Calvin Smith buried another three from the corner in response and Hahnville led by nine. After a defensive stop, Landry scored in transition off a lob from Irons that gave the Tigers their biggest lead of the night to that point.
Baskets by Destrehan’s Jumoni Washington and Triggs cut the lead to seven at 47-40. Looking for an answer, Hahnville found one from its dynamic freshman – a Tigers defensive stop and an outlet pass to Downing, who had leaked out, resulted in a highlight dunk that charged up the gym.
“We joke around about how he’s just a freshman,” said Randolph, alluding to the Hahnville student section’s chant of “He’s a freshman” following his slam. “But I know he lives for moments like this. And at the end of the game, we want him in there.”
Triggs, who was a consistent presence for Destrehan (15-16, 2-3) with not just his scoring, but his offensive rebounding, scored and drew a foul, his three-point play making it 49-43 with just over a minute left.
“(Triggs) is a phenomenal player. We told our guys when he has the ball, we’ve got to send two … he can get downhill, he’s really strong, tough, and we knew we had to get it out of his hands,” said Hahnville head coach Erica Randolph.
But out of timeout, Hahnville scored on a home run ball to Landry, who broke away from the defense for the layup to all but put the game away.
“We knew that at the end of the game, don’t get into a rat race with them, like my coach says, don’t make the mistakes that will let them get back in the game,” Moore said. “This was really a team effort. We did exactly what we had to do to come out and get a win.”
Hahnville led 25-17 at halftime.
Randolph was pleased with the intensity the Tigers showed – as well as their overall play of late. The win Tuesday night was Hahnville’s fifth in a row, also including wins over Thibodaux, Bonnabel, Central Lafourche and East St. John.
“We’re getting into gear heading into the playoffs, and I’m so pleased with that,” Randolph said. “We’ve played a very tough strength of schedule and it’s prepared us for games like tonight, a playoff-like atmosphere.”
Destrehan head coach Khary Carrell credited Hahnville, but added he was disappointed in the Wildcats’ lack of discipline – and as a result, he said, his team now faces a must win game at Thibodaux. The loss to Hahnville, Carrell said, likely drops Destrehan to the edge of qualifying for the 28-team playoff field in Division I, and to have any chance of making it, the Wildcats must win Friday. Destrehan won seven straight in a recent stretch but has now lost three of its last four going into its final game of the regular season.
“The trouble, in a nutshell, was discipline tonight,” Carrell said. “Too many missed layups. We weren’t passing it to the open man. We had chances to make a run, guys running free, and we aren’t making the right play. And that’s the disappointing part, because we talked all week about what we had to do to beat Hahnville. We knew they were gonna play hard. But when you don’t do the little things, the things that matter, you’re going to lose games like this.”
