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LAFAYETTE – New Iberia Senior High dropped a 59-54 slugfest to St. Thomas More at Brad Boyd’s Cajundome Classic on Saturday night, but there were silver linings for coach Chad Pourciau and the Yellow Jackets.

For one, NISH (25-3) led for much of the contest. The Yellow Jackets held a nine-point advantage in the second quarter and were ahead by five points on three occasions in the third quarter.

When STM (28-4) made a 10-0 run to surge ahead 45-40, the Yellow Jackets came right back on a 3-pointer and two free throws from Christian. Walker.

Although Walker didn’t enjoy one of his better games from a scoring standpoint, 5 of his 7 points kept NISH close in the fourth quarter. The senior guard was a factor in other ways, grabbing several long rebounds and frequently forcing turnovers.

Wayne Randall-Bashay had a big night, making 4 of 5 field goals in the second half and tallying a team-high 17 points.

Kentravien Smith came off the bench in the third quarter to make both his shots. As a big-bodied forward, Smith could provide valuable minutes in the upcoming playoffs.

“I’m trying to trust him and Otis (Anderson) more,” Pourciau said. “With Jayden (Westley) in foul trouble, those two gave us some production.”

Westley made both his field goals in the first quarter, but he also picked up two quick fouls. After sitting out the remainder of the half, he collected a third foul early in the third quarter.

STM 6-foot-8 junior Chad Jones, who was named his team’s Most Outstanding Player after scoring 18 points, praised Randall-Bashay after the game.

“Wayne is my guy,” he said. “It’s real fun to compete with players you’ve played with and against in the past. Real fun.”

Despite dropping a second straight game, the Yellow Jackets maintained their No. 1 power rating among Division I non-select schools with games against Carencro and Acadiana this week to conclude the regular season.

“If you like high school basketball, this was a good game to watch tonight,” Pourciau said. “There were swings both ways. Look, we had a war last night against Southside. Then, we turn around and play the No. 2 team in Division I select.

“It’s tough. I’m proud of our kids. We fought.”

Devin Frank added 9 points for NISH with Austin Delahoussaye chipping in 8 points.

“They’re a hard team to stop,” STM coach Danny Broussard said of the Yellow Jackets. “We wanted to stop their transition offense. Our half court defense came through when we were down by seven points.

“We didn’t panic. We just do our thing. We kept going. We’ve been guarding, and that’s what got us back into it tonight.”