LHSAA Boys’ Marsh Madness Closes Out With Memorable Championship Celebrations

By Hunter Bower // GeauxPreps.com Owner

LAKE CHARLES – The 2022 LHSAA Boys’ Marsh Madness Tournament was capped with a quartet of memorable state title celebrations as G.W. Carver, Madison Prep, Port Allen & Zachary all finished the season on top of the basketball world.

CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: G.W. CARVER 66, MCMAIN 31

Defense wins championships. But a good offense dominates and that’s exactly what worked for G.W. Carver Saturday in a 66-31 thrashing over McMain in a rematch of last year’s Class 4A title game.

The win gave the Rams their first state title since 2003 and second in school history.

McMain got the party started with a layup but the Carver offense woke up after and went on a 20-0 to climb out to a 26-4 lead after one quarter of play. Another strong run in the next period cushioned the lead with a 38-10 advantage at half in favor of the Rams.

With the game well in hand in the second half, neither team quit as McMain battle to cut into the lead. However, the strong defensive effort from Carver was no match and with a 53% shooting performance, the Rams did enough to keep the defending state champions at bay.

Texas A&M signee Solomon Washington was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player after having finished an assist shy of a triple-double. He scored 12 points in the game along with 20 rebounds, nine assists, six blocks and four steals.

Laurance Nathan and Willie Lee Anderson each led the game with 17 points each.

For McMain, Nicholas Kaigler led the scoring effort with 11 points with three rebounds.

CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: MADISON PREP 57, WOSSMAN 38

Despite having the loss of its key player in the first half, Madison Prep found a way to dispatch of Wossman in Saturday’s Class 3A championship game and earn its ninth title in school history.

The Chargers had to regroup after leading scorer and Seton Hall commit Percy Daniels exited the game with two fouls early in the first quarter. However, the leadership on the team was evident as MPA was not phased and jumped out to a 10-3 lead.

Wossman struggled to get an offensive momentum going, shooting just 7% in the first half, while both squads combined for 24 foul calls, 14 of which came in the first quarter.

Senior guard Dez’mond Perkins took over the offensive effort for the Chargers and wound up with the Most Oustanding Player award following a 21-point performance along with seven rebounds and two blocks.

The Wildcats were able to get some offensive momentum going int he second half as they chipped away at a 19-point lead as the MPA shooting cooled off.

Only trailing by nine as both teams headed into the final quarter, foul trouble continued to plague Wossman as three players fould out. MPA continued its scoring effort and out scored the opposition, 16-6, to lock up the school’s second consecutive title.

Albert Shell led the Wildcat offense with eight points, eight rebounds and four steals on the evening.

CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: PORT ALLEN 67, AMITE 49

All is well in Port Allen as the Pelicans took home their third consecutive state championship after taking down Amite, 67-49, in Saturday’s Class 2A title game.

Amite hopes to win their first title since 1985 but the Warriors were unable to overcome the potent offense of Port Allen who seemed to have an answer for any offensive run.

Both teams were locked in a defensive battle early as Amite lead by seven points but a Port Allen 14-0 run midway through the second quarter caused an immediate separation that the Warriors could never seem to recover from.

The Pelicans again came out swinging in the second half starting out on a 5-0 run to extend its lead to a nine-point advantage. As the quarter closed out, the Warriors were able to cut an 11-point lead down to as low as five but Port Allan against distanced itself down the stretch with a 7-2 run to end the quarter.

Amite attempted to fight back in the final quarter but foul trouble allowed the Pelicans to retreat to the charity stripe to extend its lead. Port Allen finished 14-of-19 in free-throws on the night.

E.J. McQuillan was named Most Outstanding Player for his performance in the game where he finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jordan Brooks finished with 15 points while Aries Lewis recorded a double-double with 11 pints and 10 rebounds.

For Amite, Braylen Jackson led with eight points while Javae Gilmore finished with six points, six rebounds and three assists.

CLASS 5A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: ZACHARY 84, NORTHSHORE 53

Zachary claimed its second straight title Saturday night in an 84-53 win against No. 11 Northshore.

After a 19-10 start to the game, the Broncos used an 8-2 run in the start of the second quarter to extend their lead to 15 points and would eventually leave the floor at halftime with a 40-20 advantage over the Panthers.

Zachary stayed in control throughout the game never surrendering the lead but Northshore continued to battle throughout. Their biggest run came on a 10-2 advantage over the Broncos in the third but it still wasn’t enough to overcome the large deficit.

In a sea of techincal fouls, intentional fouls and even an ejection of the Northshore head coach, the fourth quarter belonged to Zachary with a 28-17 advantage, mostly off of free throws.

Zachary’s Jalen Bolden was named Most Outstanding Player after finishing with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and two steals. Brandon Rogers, Michael Quiett and Jordan Decuir each finished with double-digit scoring efforts.

For Northshore, Kohen Rowbatham hit 15 points on the night while James Bridges finished with 14 points.