LAKE CHARLES — There was no dramatic moment or game-winning shot. Third-seeded Catholic took the lead in the third quarter and never gave it up.
An eight-point third-quarter surge and timely 3-point shooting helped the Bears notch a 68-59 victory over No. 2 St. Thomas More in a Division I select semifinal at the LHSAA Boys State Basketball tournament Wednesday night.
“We told our guys at halftime that we thought our depth would show,” Catholic coach Derrick Jones said. “I think we were able to separate from them because our main guys were able to get breaks in the first half.
“Because of that, I think our guys were a step quicker than they were at times and had a little on their shots.”
Sophomore Benjamin McCurry scored a game-high 24 points, making 5 of 6 3-pointers and 8 of 11 shots overall for the Bears. Dennis Hebert (18), Stan Levy (12) and Connor Green (10) also scored in double digits.
Chad Jones led the Cougars (32-5) with 16 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Mouton added 14.
“We have a chance now to make history at our school,” Hebert noted.
Catholic (27-6) plays top-seeded Scotlandville (32-3), a District 4-5A rival, in the Division I select final seeking its first boys basketball title. Game time is 6 p.m. Saturday at Burton Coliseum.
“We got beat by a better team tonight,” STM coach Danny Broussard said. “Our man-to-man defense has been good for us all year. We thought we would play some zone and when we jumped into the zone they hit an open 3.
“We had a couple of defensive breakdowns and that is what a good team does – they took advantage of it and hit some big 3s on us.”
STM led by as much as four points twice in the first quarter. Catholic took a 16-14 lead a layup and free throw by Levy with 38.2 seconds to go in the first period.
Mouton tied it with a layup seconds later. The score was tied at 16-16 after one quarter and 26-26 at the half.
Catholic came out firing in the third quarter. The Bears made three 3-pointers in the quarter. Hebert’s second 3-pointer of the quarter gave Catholic a 40-31 lead with 2:27 to go.
The Bears led 45-37 after three quarters and extended their lead to as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter. St. Thomas More got within six in the final minute but got no closer.
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