ST. MARTINVILLE — Following a 57-55 loss to visiting Cecilia on Tuesday, St. Martinville Senior High head coach Ihmaru Jones promised to consider shaking up his lineup.

“I”m trying to find five people to follow directions and run stuff the way we want it.,” Jones said. “That’s my mission.”

The Tigers (12-9) led by as many as seven points in the third quarter, but Lamar University signee Avontez Ledet exploded for 37 points as Cecilia scored the game-winning bucket on an assist from senior guard to Joe Bob Wiltz with six seconds remaining.

“I had five seniors in there that didn’t follow one of my damn directions,” Jones said. “Not one. It disappointed me that we weren’t poised. We fell into that trap of ‘you shoot a 3, I’ll shoot a 3.’

“That’s not our game. That’s not what we practice. We fell into that mode where they just wanted to hear the crowd go, ‘Ooh!’ if we make it. That’s not basketball, man. That’s not what I teach.”

Ledet had eight 3’s and Wiltz, a 6-foot-6 senior, added 16 points for the Bulldogs (9-8).

Fourteen of Ledet’s points came in the third quarter, and he scored 12 more in the fourth.

“If they would have followed my directions, he’s not even getting the chance to shoot that,” Jones said. “In the fourth quarter, especially, they were supposed to double him and make him get off the ball.

“Then they’re not supposed to let him get it back. That’s the directions they were supposed to follow.”

Datavious Gabriel, SMSH’s star senior forward, scored 5 points in his first game back from a 14-day quarantine.

“He’s having to shake a lot of rust off,” Jones said. “But still, the guys didn’t follow directions and they didn’t run the offense the way it’s taught. We were trying to shoot them out of their zone defense, and that’s not what we practice.

“We’re supposed to be getting mid-range shots and layups against a 2-3 zone. Just like we did in the JV game.”

Despite being held scoreless in the first half, SMSH guard Jalen Mitchell finished with 14 points and four 3’s. Sophomore Harvey Broussard scored 15 and Xavier Kately chipped in 11 points for the Tigers.

“We didn’t block out on the other end and were giving up lay-ups,” Jones said. “We get a dunk, they get a 3. That’s not basketball. We’re celebrating the dunk. Uh-uh, that’s not basketball.”