The Hahnville High School boys basketball team has a lot to be proud of. After all, the team is headed to the semi-finals from the first time since 2005. In a 63-46 Tiger victory against East Ascension last Friday, the boys earned a trip to the Top 28 Basketball Tournament in Lafayette’s Cajundome.
Although sloppy shooting plagued the team early on, it was a break-away second quarter that put them ahead.
Hahnville fell behind 6-1 in the early minutes, with six scoreless possessions and a free throw to blame. But after Derrick Raymond sank the team’s first field goal, the Tigers tied the score at 10.
Hahnville outscored the Spartans 24-9 in the third period to take a 34-19 lead.
Warren Lebeouf and Desmond Raymond both finished with 12 points, but six other Tigers scored.
Jarred Kinsey took one for the team, suffering a possible broken nose in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t get rattled,” Lumar said. “At this point in the season, we’re used to overcoming stuff like that. In the second quarter we started to step up our play on the defensive end of the court, and that led to some easy transition baskets.”
East Ascension tried to reclaim the lead in the third quarter.
The Spartans pulled together, outscoring the Tigers 14-6 in the first five minutes.
And with less than two minutes remaining in the third, Hahnville’s opponents scored a 3-pointer, taking the lead 40-35.
But Jauries Thomas answered with a slam dunk, then Kinsey made two free throws and LeBeouf scored on a layup to help the Tigers pull away again.
Then the defense held the Spartans scoreless for 4 minutes of the final period to land a spot in the Top 28.
Keith Fleming led East Ascension with 13 points, and Gary Weber added 11.
“It feels great and the team is excited to head to the next level,” Hahnville Coach Brian Lumar said. “But from day one I told the guys we’re not just satisfied with getting to this point. We’re not satisfied with just going to Lafayette. We want to go all the way.”
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