A daunting non-district schedule combined with the late arrival of its football players didn’t do wonders for the Catholic High basketball team’s won/loss record. 

The Panthers began the year 0-3 before winning eight of nine games once the members of the state championship football squad arrived. In its Jan. 3 win over Cecilia, CHS lost junior Layton Mitchell to a concussion. 

That’s when the schedule got bumpy. The Panthers lost to the top two teams in Division I select – Liberty Magnet and Catholic-Baton Rouge – and to Class 4A Northside (18-4) – but also defeated Class 5A Holy Cross, which came into the game with a 16-1 record, on the road in New Orleans. 

On Tuesday night in Loreauville, the Panthers began District 7-2A play with a 62-27 win over the Tigers, who entered the game inside of the top five Division III nonselect power ratings. Mitchell, in his second game back, scored in double digits. 

“I really felt like this is what I expected when coach Josh (Guilbeau) and I sat down and made the schedule,” CHS coach Dylan Vincent said. “We played three of the top 10 Class 5A teams already. We played two of the top Class 4A teams. We played Southern Lab, which was No. 1 in Class 1A.

“When we got to district, I wanted it to be a little bit easier. We should dominate this, in my opinion.”

The Panthers (11-8, 2-0) led 9-6 after one quarter and 23-16 at the half. In the third quarter, CHS connected on 11 of 16 field goals (68.75 FG%) while the Tigers shot 2 for 7 and were outscored 22-5. 

“I came in and challenged the players,” Vincent said. “I told them that we have been playing top level teams. I’m not playing zone anymore. Let’s go out and play man-to-man.”

Senior Jaiden Mitchell led CHS with 15 points. Jacob Minvielle, Tristan Lewis and Layton Mitchell all scored in double-figures, and Joab Trosclair added nine points. The 6-foot-10 junior blocked an LHS 3-point attempt at the end of the first half and vocally expressed his pleasure as he ran to the locker room.

“Honestly, I was feeling great,” Trosclair said. “We’re definitely putting all the pieces together. I was getting to the rim and finishing. As a whole team, we were doing great.”

Trosclair knocked down 3 of 4 shots in the third quarter and added a free throw as the Panthers went on a pair of 11-0 runs. Lewis kicked off the first run with a drive to the basket for a 27-19 lead. Jaiden Mitchell lobbed an alley-oop to sophomore Karon Eugene for a dunk to push it to 37-19.

The 6-foot-8 Minvielle made 6 of his final 8 shots. He and Trosclair combined to knock down 9 of 14 field goals. 

“At the St. Thomas More Tournament, I said that if (Minvielle and Trosclair) come to play with the guards, we’re almost unbeatable,” Vincent said. “You’ve seen how they’ve progressed.”

Layton Mitchell gave CHS a 7-2 lead in the first quarter on back-to- back buckets. Another Mitchell basket provided the Panthers with a 17-13 lead with 3:19 left in the half. 

“You never know how much you miss somebody until you lose them,” Vincent said. “Layton got hurt with concussion protocol on Jan. 3 and didn’t get back until the 23rd. 

“That put a lot of pressure on Jaiden Mitchell, my point guard, because we’re out another ball handler. Jaiden stepped up to the plate like he always does, but we were missing something. Layton is our X-factor.”

The Panthers won at Franklin Senior High the next night, 49-40. They’ll host West Saint Mary (11-4, 1-0) on Friday, Jan. 31. 

Loreauville (11-6, 0-1) lost for the third time in its last four games. The Tigers have been shorthanded after senior guard Kylon Polk, who was honored before the game for scoring his 1,000th point, was injured against New Iberia. Polk has played limited minutes since then. 

Texas Tech football signee Dylan Singleton scored 11 points for the Tigers, who travel to Franklin (12-4, 0-1) on Friday, Jan. 31. Pharrel Nora had seven points, and Blaise Romero chipped in five points.