There is always a Baton Rouge thread running through the LHSAA Boys State Basketball tournament in Lake Charles.
So, an all-BR semifinal on the first day of the six-day tournament makes sense. University High vs. The Dunham School game is a great place to start.
“We’ve already heard the narrative … It’s tough to beat a team three times in one season,” Dunham coach Chad Myers said. “And here we go with it.
“Then, my assistant coach’s wife tells me … You only have to beat them once. It’s one game. I told her we’re using that. And we should because both teams have changed a lot since the last time we played.”
Third-seeded University (23-7) takes on No. 2 Dunham (27-7) in a Division III select semifinal set for 4:30 p.m. Monday at Burton Coliseum.
The two teams are part of a three-team BR contingent in Division III select. Episcopal (22-15), a No. 13 seed meets top-seeded Newman (18-3) in the other semifinal on Tuesday.
The two teams played twice early in the year with Dunham winning 48-37 on Dec. 8 and 55-49 on Jan. 12.
“This senior class has been very strong in leading the way,” U-High coach Joe Spencer said. “The roles have changed for some of those guys, but I am very proud of the way guys like Darryl Hurst and Cooper Coates have handled those roles, especially after we lost one of our seniors, Noah Beamon in January.
“We got on a little roll. … I think we won nine straight before playing Madison Prep in that district (6-3A) championship game. I think that’s when we figured out how everyone fit in.”
Dunham, the 6-2A champion, has four players averaging in double figures, led by Mason Lavergne (12 points per game) and Elijah Haven (11.7). Each team has a freshman who plays a key role. Haven, the football quarterback, is that player for the Tigers.
Ethan Kimmie is a freshman who has emerged as a double-figures scorer for the Cubs. Trishaad Bush (13.0) is U-High’s top scorer. Coates and Dunham’s Brayden Rabalais are X-factor players who contribute what is needed in specific instances.
Dunham, a semifinalist a year ago, lost its regular-season finale to Ruston but has won 14 of its past 16 games. U-High makes its first tourney appearance in two years and has won 11 of its past 12 games.
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