By T. Scott Boatright
LAKE CHARLES — In what felt like a track meet fittingly complete with a fast and furious finish, top-ranked Lacassine outlasted fourth-seeded Simsboro in the sprint down the stretch to earn a 71-64 victory in the semifinals of the Class B Boys State Basketball Playoffs Tuesday night inside Burton Coliseum.
It was a tight game from beginning to end, with the Cardinals starting strong before Simsboro moved out in front, with freshman Ahmad Smith’s coast-to-coast layup off a steal with 1.8 seconds left in the opening stanza put the Tigers on top 16-11 heading into the second quarter.
Simsboro kept pushing the pace to start the second stanza, pushing its lead to 22-11 only 1:30 into the period on a Justin Prudhomme putback.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 12 points at 24-12 on a Jaylen Outley putback at the 5:56 mark of the quarter.
Lacassine countered with a 16-4 run to tie the game at 28-28 with 52 seconds left in the first half.
Outley went to the line with 39.1 seconds on the clock and hit the first of two free-throw attempts that put the Tigers up 29-28 heading into the locker rooms at intermission.
Simsboro came out strong in the second quarter with layups by Outley and Jakaleb Modest that pushed the Tigers’ lead to 33-28 1:20 into the stanza.
Lacassine countered with a 5-0 run to tie things up at the 6:01 mark of the period, and the quarter became a back and forth slugfest from there until the Cardinals heated up with the clock winding down, taking its first lead since the first quarter on a pair of free throws with 1:19 left in the stanza.
The Cardinals added a pair of baskets in the final 20 seconds of the period to take a 46-42 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of the contest.
But Simsboro battled back to open the quarter, with an Outley putback followed by a 3-pointer by Ahmad Smith giving the Tigers a 47-46 lead with 7:15 remaining.
That would be the Tigers’ last lead of the game, not that they didn’t have opportunities racing down the stretch.
A big dagger for Simsboro came with 4:43 left in the contest when senior point guard Trumarion “Man-Man” Smith, the Tigers’ on court leader and quarterback, fouled out of the contest.
Ahmad Smith tried to keep the Tigers in it, nailing a 3-pointer that cut the Cardinals’ lead 54-52 with 4:24 remaining.
Lacassine countered with layup to extend its lead back to four points before Simsboro’s Justin Prudhomme launched a 3-point attempt from the right wing that bounced high off the front of the rim, came down and bounced off it again before rolling down through the net to cut the Cardinals’ advantage to 56-55 with 3:30 remaining.
But that’s as close as the Tigers’ would get without their co-court coach directing their offense.
Outley added a before Ahmad Smith hit another 3-pointer that kept Simsboro within striking distance at 62-66 with 2:02 left on the clock, but it wasn’t meant to be in what was only Coach Adam Wodach’s second-year overseeing the Tigers as Lacassine closed out the contest with a 5-2 run that earned the Cardinals their first title game appearance since 1976.
Ahmad Smith led the way for Simsboro with 23 points while Outley finished with 15.
Lacassine, which was led by Alex Thomas with 20 points, will battle second-seeded Avoyelles Public Charter High School on Friday night for the Class B title.
