By T. Scott Boatright
SIMSBORO — Sometimes an athletic team simply comes out firing on all cylinders.
It’s even better when they’re doing so in the midst of a playoff run.
Consider the Simsboro High School boys basketball team stands primed after rolling to a 75-37 win over Lincoln Parish rival Choudrant in second-round action of the Class B Boys Basketball Playoffs inside the SHS Gym.
The fourth-seeded Tigers checked all the boxes a winning team needs in their methodical win over the 13th-seeded Aggies.
An offensive juggernaut that can score from any spot on the floor at any time? Check.
And a smothering pressure defense forcing numerous turnovers converted into offensive scores? Check again.
OK. How about a spectacular play that ignites the crowd and starts an early celebration? Check that box off, too.
The Tigers had it all during Tuesday’s win over Choudrant, with Jalen Outley’s thunderous dunk with time winding down in the third quarter starting an eight-minute celebration for Simsboro throughout the fourth quarter thanks to a running clock.
It’s no surprise that Ahmad Smith led the Tigers in scoring with 18 points. Simsboro has multiple players capable of pouring in plenty of points on any given night.
But it was the pure power Outley used to slam the ball through the rim into the nets that brought a crowd that was already standing room only to its feet.
“We’ve been trying to get him to do that all season,” SHS coach Adam Wodach said of Outley’s dunk. “And wow, he did it tonight.
“That surprised me. He probably surprised himself. Seeing the crowd respond and explode because of it was amazing. It was what high school playoff basketball is all about. That was a good win, a big win against a good basketball team, and everyone on the bench got to play in it.
Simsboro opened the game on an 8-0 run that included a Jakelab Modest layup off a pass from point guard Trumarion “Man-Man” Smith, a running jumper by the “Man-Man” himself, a Justin Prudhomme arching jumper from inside the key and a “Man-Man” layup off a near full-court assist from Modest.
Choudrant’s first score came on a Benton Case jump at the 5:08 mark of the opening stanza as the Tigers 14-4 to close out the period from there.
And the Tigers closed out the second quarter with a “Man-Man” layup off a pass from Jeremiah Levingston with 9.6 seconds on the clock that gave Simsboro a 41-15 halftime advantage.
They extended their lead to 64-28 as Outley closed out the third quarter with his slam to remember.
The loss didn’t stop Aggies coach Ryan Smith from feeling strong about his team’s future.
“I’m just so proud of the progress this team made since the start of the season into the playoffs,” the CHS coach said. “We started the season pretty bad, so for them just to get us into the playoffs says a lot about the future. But I do feel bad for our three seniors (Logan Batterton, Tucker Batterton and Braden Soto).
“This team had to face some adversity before coming over here. And they fought from start to finish against a very good team. This isn’t the ending we wanted. But there’s also some excitement in the way we finished this season and the fact that with so many players coming back should mean bigger and better things for us next season.”
Jackson Ambrose led the Aggies with 10 points on the night while Tucker Batterton added nine.
Modest added 18 points for the Tigers while Outley chipped in with 12, Justin Terrel totaled 10 and “Man-Man” hit for eight.
“One game at a time,” Wodach said. “That’s all we’re thinking about. All we’re focusing on.
“Because none of it matters if we don’t earn our ultimate goal. Tonight was a good step. But we’re not done yet. Not even close to done.”
Next up for Simsboro will be a home game against fifth-seeded Hicks (a 64-55 winner over 12th-seeded Doyline on Monday night) in a game expected to be played on Friday.
