Family Christian rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit. The Flames scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter and led by three points with less than six minutes remaining.
Then, Avoyelles Public Charter delivered a knockout punch.
A 17-4 run over the final 5:49 wrapped up Avoyelles Public Charter’s 52-41 victory over Family Christian in the Division V select title game that opened Friday’s action at the LHSAA boys state basketball tournament played at Burton Coliseum.
“I think we came out strong, we had a very simple plan going in,” Family Christian coach Isaac Amedee said. “It’s tough to get down 13 to a team like that. I thought their depth wore on us … with us playing pretty much five guys. We took that lead and could not hold on to it.
“They (Avoyelles Public Charter) do a good job. They are not going to make very many mistakes. They beat us on the offense glass and they have multiple guys who can score for outside.”
Top-seeded APC (35-1) ended its season with a 13-game winning streak and claimed the school’s first LHSAA title in any sport. Title-game MVP Jalen Brown scored a game-high 22 points and 4 assists.
Brown was 6 of 10 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. Talik Williams and Armonii Benjamin had 10 points each for the Vikings.
Jordan Jones led No. 2 Family Christian (25-15), the Division V champion in 2022, with 10 points. FCA’s top scorer Chance Martin was held to 8 points — 13 below his average by an aggressive APC defense that kept Martin from finding a rhythm without fouling.
“They knew where I like to shoot from and kept me from getting to those spots,” Martin said. “They are well coached and did a great job … hats off to them.”
The Flames came in hot. Two 3-pointers — one by Jones and one by Kayden Colbert helped FCA score the first eight points. However, APC score the next 16 points and led 16-8 going into the second quarter.
A transition basket by Brown upped the Vikings’ lead to 26-13 midway through the second quarter.
Family Christian scored 8 of the final 10 points before halftime and trailed 28-21. The Flames cut it to one, at 35-34, on a putback by Timel Carmel going into the fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t the prettiest, you know, but we found a way like all season to win,” APC coach Antonio Benjamin said.
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