Panthers set to travel to No. 1 Newman for quarters

Catholic High School goes for a second straight upset of a higher seed when the Panthers travel to New Orleans on Friday to test No. 1 Newman in the Division III quarterfinals.

On Saturday, the No. 9 Panthers knocked off No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas 39-36 in Hammond. KK Reno had 15 points for CHS.

“Trace Williams and KK Reno are our two biggest offensive threats,” CHS head coach Josh Guilbeau said.

“If we can get one of those guys playing well, which KK played well on Saturday, we have an opportunity to win. I hope we can get both going on Friday.”

Reno, who recently pulled in his first football scholarship offer from UL, is no stranger to playing in high-stakes games.

“KK is even keeled,” Guilbeau said. “He doesn’t get too high or too low. He’s been in a lot of tough situations on the football field and basketball court.

“Trace is a quick guard. He handles the ball pretty well. He’s a great defender. Newman has some guards that are pretty quick, as well. They have a size advantage so hopefully we’ll be able to defend them.”

The Greenies (17-6), who received a bye in the opening round, have defeated several 4A and 5A programs.

“They have two very good guards,” Guilbeau said. “Chris Lockett is 6-foot-4. The other guard is 5-7 to 5-8. He’s very good. Both handle it well, shoot it well, and can get to the rim. They’re very athletic.

“They have a 6-foot-7 kid who starts and a 6-6 kid who comes off the bench. (Blue-chip sophomore quarterback) Arch Manning is on the team. They have a lot of talent.”

Lockett is rated as the No. 1 player in Louisiana by 247 Sports. He holds offers from LSU, Georgetown, Baylor, Memphis, Houston, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt, among others.

“We know that the level of talent will be stepping up in the game on Friday,” Guilbeau said. “Newman is talented. They have a lot of size.

“I was telling the team today that, from a preparation standpoint, things are pretty much the same for this game. We’ll certainly see a lot more man-to-man than zone defense”.

The Panthers (11-11) have won five of their last six games and the only loss was by eight points to Franklin. In the first CHS/Franklin matchup, the Panthers lost by 53 points.

“The past few games, we’ve turned the ball over less,” Guilbeau said. “We’ve shot fewer 3’s and have focused on getting the ball into the lane where we can get a higher-percentage shot.

“I think the biggest thing has been handling pressure better than we had been. On Saturday, we were able to get to the free throw line a little more. We didn’t make as many as we’d like, but they were in a little bit of foul trouble. Thats been our recipe for success.”