Hahnville’s season came to a close as the 25th seeded Tigers fell at No. 8 St. Amant in a game that went down to the wire, a 65-62 victory for the Gators.
The Tigers were up by double figures for much of the night, but a blistering comeback by St. Amant in the second half spelled the end for a young Tigers lineup.
Tyler Martin led Hahnville (14-16) with 17 points. Lionel Irons scored 12, Torrey Smith 11 and Kaden Downing 10.
The Gators (27-5) advanced to round two to face No. 9 Northshore.
Hahnville head coach Erica Randolph called it a learning experience for her team.
“We were ahead most of the night,” Randolph said. “We did a good job getting up by 15, but we didn’t execute as well late in the game. We have a couple of players who did play in the playoffs last year, but their roles are bigger now. And you do need that leadership that’s got that experience, to understand how to dig in and finish. We played with a lot of poise early and executed the gameplan well. I think we got a bit excited later on and turned the ball over.”
Despite the loss, it still seems like an exciting time around the Tigers’ program, which started five sophomores this season and played its best basketball at the end of the season, including a four-game winning streak and victory over rival Destrehan entering the playoffs.
“My overall goals for them were to grow, mature and, of course, make the playoffs, and we achieved those goals,” said Randolph. “When you place your program into the hands of a younger group, you know there are going to be some bumps along the road. But down the stretch, we finally started to understand how to finish games … we were really sharing the basketball and we were much more intentional with our possessions.”
Randolph said it was a difference from the beginning of the season, where she felt the Tigers played a bit too individually, to the end, where the group flowed together.
“We were hitting the open man,” said Randolph. “If we took a quick shot, it wasn’t a big deal – but down the stretch, we started understanding the value of these possessions. I didn’t have to tell them, if we were missing outside shots, to get the ball inside. They understood already and we’re automatically going inside for the easier shot.”
Now, a sophomore-heavy group will become a junior-laden one, and a team with strong chemistry as well.
“These guys are starting to understand what their identity is, and once you do that, you can really start to become that team that makes deep playoff run,” Randolph said.
