Highland falls in first round; HMS ladies edged

MORGAN CITY — Elijah Swan scored 15 of his 18 points in the first quarter as Central Catholic built a 27-6 lead and pulled away from that point to beat beat Highland Baptist 76-31 Thursday night in the first round of the LHSAA’s Division IV playoffs.

D.J. Lewis added 17 points for the Eagles, who led 42-12 at halftime and 60-22 at the end of the third quarter.

With the win, No. 9 seed Central Catholic (15-14) advances to the regional round to play the winner of Covenant Christian and Ecole Classique.

Keelon Prestion had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead Highland Baptist while Myles Liggans had seven points and D.J. Wright added six points. The Bears ended the season with a 1-24 record.

Girls

Vermilion Catholic 50, Hanson 47

ABBEVILLE — Jay Demouchet had 21 points as Vermilion Catholic High school held off a late Hanson Memorial School rally to beat the Lady Tigers in the quarterfinals of the Division IV playoffs Thursday.

Ainsley Mallett added 19 points for the Lady Eagles as the two district rivals battled it out for a spot in the LHSAA Ladies Top 28 Tournament in Alexandria next week.

Vermilion Catholic and Hanson were tied 18-18 at halftime before the Lady Eagles outscored HMS in the third quarter to take a 35-25 lead going into the final period.

But Hanson rallied in the final period as Carlie Pellerin scored 7 of the 14 points in the fourth quarter and Alyssa Young scored 5 of her 7 points in the final period as the No. 11 seeded Lady Tigers almost came all the way back for the win.

Kaylee Broussard finished with 10 points for Hanson in the loss.

With the win, No. 3 seed VCHS (20-7) will play No. 2 seed Houma Christian in the semifinals of the state tournament next week.

Hanson Memorial finished its season with a 21-9 record.