LAKE CHARLES — The Panthers maintained their fight until the end Monday night, but in the end top-seeded North Central held on for a 70-66 win over fourth-seeded Lincoln Preparatory School in a Boys Class 1A semifinal game at Burton Coliseum.
The loss came two years after North Central defeated Lincoln Prep in the 1A championship game.
‘“North Central made some plays when they had to,” Hudson said. “We just came up a little short. That’s pretty much all I can say about that.”
After the two teams played to a 14-14 tie in the opening stanza, the Hurricane surged out to a 30-25 halftime advantage.
But there was still plenty of fight left in the Panthers, who weren’t about to let the Hurricane storm away early.
Lincoln Prep knotted things up at 35-35 all midway through the third quarter before North Central moved back on top by four at 46-42 heading into the fourth.
The Panthers clawed their way two within 48-46 early in the final stanza, but North Central soon stretched its advantage to as much as 63-58 in a high-scoring final eight minutes that saw both teams score 24 points.
Bralyn Mayfield led the Panthers with 22 points while adding six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
Emanuel “Spider” Bryant added 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists for Lincoln Prep while Dmitry “Meci” Payne chipped in with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Hudson said he realized the Hurricanes would focus on stopping Payne first, leaving opportunities for his two bigger inside players.
“I knew that North Central was going to key on Payne but that should open up some things inside,” Hudson said. “So we’d flash Braylin or ‘Spider; to the high post. And that worked out well. They both did really good with it. In games like that, it doesn’t matter what’s going on, or what we might feel is going on, you just have to make plays through adversity and everything that is going on.”
While Hudson admitted frustration over the loss, he also expressed appreciation for the way his team fought for all 32 minutes.
“I will say that my boys fought until the very end,” Hudson said. “That’s all I can ask for as a coach. I’m proud of the way they fought.”
