Getting defensive

Published 6:00 am Thursday, December 28, 2017

ST. MARTINVILLE — It’s the one thing that been constant for New Iberia Senior High boys basketball during the Todd Russ era, the ability to play defense.

“Sometimes the shots aren’t going to fall for us,” Russ said Wednesday after his team played Breaux Bridge in the St. Martinville Senior High Holiday Shootout. “But we can always hang our hats on playing defense.”

That defensive effort showed up Wednesday afternoon as the Yellow Jackets rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Breaux Bridge 45-44 in the opening round of the tournament.

The Jackets turned up the defensive pressure after heading into the fourth quarter down by 8 points. 

Senior wingman Alex Mandeville took three charges during the final period and New Iberia held Breaux Bridge to 4 points in the period to slowly climb back into the game. Ralph Johnson’s finger-tip layup with 1.4 seconds left provided the winning points as NISH improved to 10-6 on the season and advanced to the quarterfinals tonight at 8 p.m. against St. Martinville, a 56-50 winner in the night’s final game.

“I have to give it to our kids,” Russ said. “We found a way to win.”

It may not have been the easiest way for the Jackets to get to double-digits in the win column this season but it was a typical grind-it-out, “Russ tough” type of win that NISH has become synonymous for during Russ’ tenure.

“We had to grind it out,” Russ said. “The one thing I know about this team is that we’re not going into a game thinking that one particular person is going to have to step up and have a great night.

“We’re set up where whoever has the hot hand is the person that we’re going to but we also know we’re going to have to play defense. That’s the one thing that we know we can do.”

The Jackets had to deal with a 6-foot-7 center for the Tigers and a pair of 6-foot-4 wingmen.

“Their height definitely affected us early on and forced us to do some thing that we don’t normally do,” Russ said. “But in the end the kids were able to find a way against them.”

Mandeville led the Jackets with 14 points and was the only Jacket in double-figures. Jaqualon Lovette and Kenon Tauriac each had 8 points, Xavier Smith finished with 7 points and Johnson had 6 points, including the game-winning basket.

Terry Steward led Breaux Bridge with 11 points and Carol David added 9.

St. Martinville II 55, Jeanerette 47

With Edna Karr dropping out of the tournament, St. Martinville fielded a second team and opened the Holiday Shootout with a win over Jeanerette Wednesday morning.

Bailey Mitchell led SMSH with 16 points and Andrew Savoy added 11 as St. Martinville rallied from a 2-point halftime deficit to beat Jeanerette and advance to the quarterfinals. SMSH will play Peabody today at 11 a.m.

Jared Drexler led Jeanerette with a game-high 21 points. Jaquincey Poildore added 14 points but no one else had more than 3 points for JHS.

Jeanerette falls to the consolation bracket semifinals and will play against the winner of the Church Academy and Hamilton Christian game Friday at 11 a.m.

Cecilia 73, Westgate 47

Cecilia’s Joshua Fontenette and Jevon Berry combined for 49 points in a win over Westgate in the opening round of the St. Martinville Holiday Shootout Wednesday.

Fontenette had a game-high 26 points and Berry added 23 for Cecilia, which jumped out to a 21-10 first quarter lead and cruised to the win. CHS will face Patterson in the quarterfinals today at 6:30 p.m.

Tyrun Chevalier led WHS with 16 points and Keydrain Calligan added 14 points for the Tigers, who fall to the consolation bracket and will play J.S. Clark today at 2 p.m.in the consolation quarterfinals.

St. Martinville 56, Avoyelles 50

Jamel Fontenette had 17 points and led two other players in double-figures as host St. Martinville won its opening game in its Holiday Shootout over Avoyelles Wednesday.

Treyvon Marshall added 12 points and Demontae Gardner chipped in 10 for the Tigers, who led by 5 point after three quarters and held on for the win over the Mustangs.

St. Martinville plays New Iberia Senior High at 8 p.m. in the quarterfinals today.

DaJon Bradford led Avoyelles with a game-high 25 points in defeat.