The undefeated New Iberia Senior High basketball team added another win to the column when they defeated Abbeville in the second round of the St. Martinville Darrel Mitchell, Sr. Holiday Classic on Wednesday.

The Yellow Jackets scored 15 points in the first quarter behind triple threes from senior Christian Walker to take an early lead against the Wildcats.

“I think Abbeville is going to do well this year,” said NISH head coach Chad Pourciau of his tournament opponents. “They were 6-3 going into this one and when they get into district, I think it’ll be them and St. Martinville (at the top). I like what they’re doing. They have good guards and coach Trev (Eaton) does a good job with those kids. I was able to coach them for a summer so I know what they’re capable of.”

Abbeville, who defeated Acadiana 63-50 to advance to the second round, mounted a comeback in the second quarter. After drawing to within one point of the NISH lead, the Wildcats looked like they were going to give NISH a problem in the second half.

NISH had other plans.

Despite being without their big stay forward Wayne Randall-Bashay, the Yellow Jackets were still able to maintain the offensive intensity that NISH has become famous for. Led by Walker’s 19 points, NISH was able to easily score 26 in the second half to secure a 49-29 win.

Pourciau said that his team’s slow start against Abbeville was due to a bit of holiday rust.

“It’s been a week since we’ve played, this is our first game after Christmas, so we were just sluggish to start,” he said. “We usually play pretty fast on offense, but we couldn’t get into any flow or rhythm. I think in the second half we kind of got better.”

With Randall-Bashay missing, Pourciau needed his team to step up in a big way. Walker, who routinely leads the NISH offense in scoring, was aided by Devin Frank, who added an additional nine points against Abbeville. Kylan Dugas and Kentravian Smith each added six points.

In addition to missing his offensive output, Pourciau said that Randall-Bashay is sorely missed on defense.

“The main thing with Wayne out is rebounds,” he explained. “Offense doesn’t scare me but we’re losing that length on the glass and contesting shots. Where we take charges and put our bodies on the line will be important. We’re undersized without him in the lineup, so if we do that we’ll be fine. Against Northwest we did a good job of that but tonight was just okay. With Peabody tomorrow we better be great at it or we’re going to be in trouble.”

NISH’s Thursday night opponent is 4A powerhouse Peabody (9-5). After dropping to the Warhorses last year, Pourciau said that his team will need to be at their best to come out on top.

“I got to play them in a state championship at Breaux Bridge and they beat us,” Pourciau said. “Last year, we went there and they beat us. People are gunning for us. They know that we’re off to a good start and we’re getting everybody’s best. We respect that, but we also know we need to be able to meet the challenge. We’re going to be ready to play.”

Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at St. Martinville Senior High School. Full coverage will be in the Sunday edition of The Daily Iberian.