By T. Scott Boatright
LAKE CHARLES — It was a typical Simsboro High School boys basketball game in so many ways at Barton Coliseum on the McNeese State University campus.
A slightly sluggish start. Taking control in the second quarter. Getting to empty the bench late. Winning back-to-back Class B state titles for the second time since 2018.
Top-seeded Simsboro did it again Friday night, defeating third-seeded Zwolle 67-44 to capture a second straight title and fourth in five years.
“I’m just proud of the team — this is what they’ve worked so hard for,” Brown said. “Everything we’re done the past year was trying to get to this point. The team was locked in defensively. We had a good game plan and I’m just really proud of the guys. They came out and won it. Convincingly.”
The victory was also Simsboro’s third championship game win over Zwolle since 2018 and was also the Tigers’ third over Zwolle this season after defeating the Hawks 58-43 on Nov. 16 in Simsboro.
In this championship showdown, the Tigers trailed the Hawks in the early going before tying things up 8-8.
By the end of the opening stanza Simsboro led 12-10.
Then, as happened so many times over the course of a season that saw Simsboro go 32-2, the Tigers roared to life in the second quarter, outscoring the Hawks 12-4 in the second quarter to build a 24-14 halftime lead.
That was part of a 44-13 SHS run in the second and third stanzas that allowed Brown to empty his bench for much of the final eight minutes with 12 different Tigers seeing action in the championship win.
“It’s been that way this year,” Brown said. “We’re a second-half team. We go in and make our adjustments, and I think the speed, the pace we play at starts to wear teams down. When we start scoring in transition off of turnovers, we’re tough to handle.”
Senior Nick Maryland celebrated his fourth Class B title with Player of the Game accolades after totaling 17 points (including four 3-pointers), seven rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots.
“Nick was all over the floor tonight,” Brown said. “Defensively he was just incredible. He was guarding Zwolle’s best player and had several steals and forced several walks. He really got us going on the defensive end.
“He’s been here in this situation. He’s got a lot of experience. And that showed. He played great tonight.”
Junior Chilaydrien “C-Bo” Newton led the Tigers with 21 points while adding three boards, three assists, two steals and two blocked shots while senior Shamarian Brantley chipped in with 13 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Senior Lee Abney also played a key role in the post with six rebounds and three blocked shots along with four points.
“Lee had a great game,” Brown said. “Zwolle has a 6-5 post player that scored over 30 points in several games, and Lee handled him great. He played him just like we asked him to — didn’t let him get steals, kept him off the offensive glass. Lee was incredible tonight. He may not have scored the most points, but his impact on the game was equal to some of the other guys who scored more points.”
Brown said that shortly after winning a second straight Class B title, his Tigers were already thinking about next season and working toward doing it again.
“These guys have already talked about it,” Brown said. “We’re going to go what Simsboro does. We’re going to get in the weight room and keep working toward getting better and trying to make it three straight.”
