By T. Scott Boatrightk
It was a long time coming, and looked somewhat unlikely early on.
But Choudrant overcame an early deficit and surged back in the second quarter to remain undefeated in District 2-B Tuesday night by taking a 66-49 win over Simsboro at the CHS Gym.
It was the Aggies’ first win over Simsboro in the last 26 meetings since a 40-37 Choudrant win on Feb. 3, 2012.
Simsboro coach Randy Carlisle’s Tigers roared out to a 19-9 advantage by the end of the opening stanza as the Aggies struggled to hit their shots.
But the Aggies outscored Simsboro 25-16 in the second quarter to cut the Tigers lead to 35-34 at intermission.
Choudrant then outscored Simsboro 19-9 in the third period to build a 53-43 advantage by the end of the third quarter before holding the Tigers to only five points in the final eight minutes to secure the win.
“I am so proud of everyone tonight,” Aggies coach said of his team’s win. “We always talk about being mature and disciplined. Tonight showed what having leadership means to a basketball team.
“What a night!”
Smith, in his 17th season at CHS and 14th as head coach, admitted it felt good to finally get the “beating Simsboro monkey” off the Aggies backs.
“It feels great, but more so for these kids and the community that does such a wonderful job of supporting them,” Smith said. “Simsboro lost a ton of talent from last year’s state championship team, but they’re still a very good basketball team. Coach Carlisle of course does a great job just as he’s done everywhere else he’s been with all those wins he has.
“I think the average fan thought it would be an easy win because they lost so much talent, but the more we looked at them the more we saw that these guys are still pretty good. So it was a great experience, a great moment for this team and the community. The community was really fired up throughout the game. For me personally, seeing what it means to my players and the community makes it that much more significant.”
Smith said he didn’t bring up Simsboro’s 59-game winning streak heading into the contest until halftime.
“I thought not saying anything about it until then would kind of help drive home the point to finish the game strong,” Smith said. “That was good motivation. Not that they needed motivation. This team was prepared. They were ready. I think it’s something they’ve shown every game this season — that it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side, they’re ready to compete and try to get the victory.”
Parker Batterton led the Aggies with 20 points while Mike Jones added 14 and Lachlan Thompson chipped in with 12.
The Aggies, who have now won four straight games, stand at 22-6 overall and 2-0 in district play, will next play at Forest on Tuesday.
Simsboro was led by 25 points from Earnest Chapman while Trumarion Smith added nine and Kelop Wright chipped in with eight.
The Tigers, now 6-15 and 0-1, will next play at Kilbourne on Thursday,
____________________________
Choudrant 47, Quitman 40 (BOYS)
The Aggies did it with defense Friday night to take a seven-point home win over Quitman.
Michael Jones poured in 18 points to lead the Aggies, who also received 13 points by Lachlan Thompson.
CHS led 14-10 after the first quarter and 25-20 at halftime before outscoring the Wolverines 8-4 in the final stanza to secure the win.
_____________________________
Choudrant 57, Weston 27 (BOYS)
The Aggies took control early against Weston on Thursday night, building a 16-6 advantage by the end of the first quarter at the CHS Gym.
Mike Jones led the way for Choudrant with 20 points while Parker Batteron hit for 18 in a game in which 10 Aggies put points on the scoreboard.
___________________________
Lincoln Prep 52, OCS 37 (BOYS)
The Panthers remained undefeated in District 2-1A action as they went on the road to earn a win Tuesday night at Ouachita Christian.
Lincoln Prep led 14-10 at the end of the first stanza but pushed its lead to 30-17 by intermission.
Bralyn Mayfield led the way for Lincoln Prep with 25 points and 13 rebounds while adding five steals and two blocked shots.
The Panthers also got eight points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals from Brandon Heard while Amarjae Young added six points, three steals and two assists and Trey Spann chipped in with five points, four steals, four assists, four rebounds and a blocked shot.
Lincoln Prep, now 14-4 and 4-0 in district play, will next play at Cedar Creek on Friday.
___________________________
Lincoln Prep 71, River Oaks 18 (BOYS)
The Panthers roared to an early lead en route to a big district win over River Oaks on Jan. 17 at the New Living Word Gym in Ruston.
Lincoln Prep built a 23-7 lead by the end of the first quarter and was on top 45-14 at the half.
Bralyn Mayfield topped the Panthers with 14 points while adding two assists and two steals.
Kobe Mack chipped in with 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Panthers while Trey Spann added 10 points, five steals, two assists and one rebound.
The Panthers also got nine points, four assists and four steals from Brandon Heard, six points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals from Stephen Burks III, six points, four rebounds, four steals, an assist and a blocked shot from Verlanski Glosson, Jr. and six points, a steal and block from Amarjae Young.
To report an issue or typo with this article – CLICK HERE
