LAKE CHARLES — Fourth-seeded Patterson was poised to pull off the upset. The Lumberjacks led the majority of their Division III nonselect semifinal with top-seeded Port Allen.
PAHS senior Elliot McQuillan summed up what happened next the best: “The whole time I was going to the goal, I was telling everybody ‘I am not going home. I refuse to go back home … I have a goal in mind that I want.’ ”
By scoring the final five points, McQuillan got what he wanted — a 77-75 triple overtime victory over Patterson in the LHSAA Boys State Basketball tournament Wednesday night at Burton Coliseum. And the chance to play for another LHSAA title.
Port Allen (28-4) advances to play the winner of the French Settlement-Winfield game at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Pelicans won Class 2A titles the last three years.
“I think that has to be at least top five when it comes to one of the greatest high school games … ever … it has to be,” Port Allen coach Dimario Jackson said. “Hats off to Patterson. They are well coached, they’re tough and they play hard. They executed their game plan real well.
“But also hats off to my guys. That is a hard-fought tough, gritty win. That was the toughest game we played all year.”
Three players posted double-doubles. McQuillan finished with a game-high 35 points and 13 rebounds. Isaiah Howard added 32 points and 13 rebounds. The duo scored 67 of the Pelicans’ 77 points.
Post players Josiah Jennings (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Demond Davis (19, 7 rebounds) were just as dynamic for the Lumberbacks (22-5), who led 21-7 in the second quarter and by 11 points, at 48-37, going into the fourth quarter. Four players fouled out.
“We were handling our business inside most of the night,” Patterson coach Warrell Span said. “We just got sped up and stop throwing the ball inside … I would say that is where we lost the game.”
For Port Allen, the game was a test of grit and resourcefulness. McQuillan offers a case in point.
Known as one of the BR area’s top pure shooters, McQuillan was just 4 of 26 on field goals when he drove into the lane and floated the go-ahead shot through the net with 52.9 seconds remaining in the third overtime.
But he was 24 of 28 from the free throw line, including 3 of 4 free throws in the final 30 seconds. Howard was 12 of 29 from the field and 8 of 17 from the line. He also drove the lane to create offense.
“I knew my shot wasn’t falling, so I was taking what I had,” McQuillan said.
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