There have been losses this season that Lafayette Renaissance head boys’ basketball coach Brad Boyd would like to have back.
Because in a couple of those losses, Boyd felt like his Tigers “let one slip away.”
Most notably in the District 6-2A opener against rival Lafayette Christian who they lost to 59-58 back in January. That loss to the Knights ultimately cost the Tigers the district championship.
So, when the two teams met Tuesday in the second round of the Division III select playoffs, Boyd and the Tigers were determined to leave nothing to chance.
Behind a strong defensive effort, the Tigers cruised to a 58-32 win over the Knights to advance to the state quarterfinals.
It’s the second time that the Tigers have reached the quarterfinals, accomplishing the feat last year for the first time in school history.
“It’s a little more sweeter this time when you get to beat a district rival like LCA to get there,” Boyd said. “It’s a good feeling. We let one slip away for the district championship game against them, so to come back and beat them by 26 points was big.”
The Tigers held the Knights to 16 points in each half, including seven points in the first and third quarters.
“We really locked in on defense,” Boyd said. “We had a game plan coming in and we were able to execute that game plan.”
Offensively, the Tigers, who will travel to face De La Salle in the quarterfinals, were led by JonTavion Etienne and Evan Ledoux. Etienne finished with a game-high 16 points, eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot, while Ledoux contributed with 13 points.
“Bubba Etienne had a big game. He’s our senior and man he was feeling it all night,” Boyd said. “Evan had a bunch of key layups for us throughout the game. He’s just so scrappy.”
The Knights didn’t have any players score in double-figures, with their leading scorers Tuesday being Graham Comeaux, Josh Wilson and Christian Glenn, who combined for 21 points. Comeaux finished as the leading scorer with eight points, Wilson had seven and Glenn ended with six in the losing effort for the Knights.
“We wanted to just get up in them,” Boyd said. “We wanted to make them have to dribble the ball. Their game is to shoot a lot of threes. We held the Graham kid to (eight) points, and he scored 32 on us the last time we played. So, that was the key to shut him down and make other guys score.”
Now, the Tigers will look to punch their ticket to Lake Charles against a talented De La Salle team on the road.
“De La Salle has some scrappy guards,” Boyd said. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a battle.”
