The Destrehan Wildcats nearly dug themselves out of a big first half hole, but the Thibodaux Tigers pushed them right back in taking a 69-59 District 7-5A win Friday.
The game looked like a tight one in the first quarter. The teams traded baskets, and the lead, in the first eight minutes, with the Tigers (12-5 overall, 1-1 district) taking an 18-15 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter began slowly. The Wildcats (11-9, 1-1 district) took a 20-19 lead as Lionel Maxon (16 points) sank a 3-pointer with 5:23 left in the half.
But then the Tiger offense exploded in the last three minutes. Corey Johnson (eight points) and Rashod Robinson (10 points) hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Tigers scored on eight of their last 10 possessions of the first half, turning a one-point deficit into a 12-point halftime lead, 36-24. The Tigers outscored the Wildcats 16-4 in the last three minutes.
“We stopped missing shots,” Thibodaux coach Tony Clark said. “It was just the flow of the game. I’m pleased with the way we played defensively. I wasn’t pleased with the way we rebounded. Overall, it was a good effort. Destrehan is a good team. They’re long, they’re athletic, and I thought we played them well.”
Kobi Johnson hit a 3-pointer to start the third quarter, putting the Tigers up by 15. But slowly, the Wildcats came creeping back. J.R Blood (15 points) hit a 3-pointer with around two minutes left in the third to cut the lead to 45-37. Johnson, who led all scorers with 30 points, hit a 3-pointer to make it an 11-point game. But the Wildcats scored on their last four possessions, making it 49-44 at the end of three quarters.
The fourth quarter began with both teams scoring on four of their first six possessions. Zalvin Michael’s put back cut the lead to two with about three minutes left but that’s when Johnson took over.
The junior hit a jumper, 3-pointer and seven of eight foul shots (9 of 10 for the game) as the Tigers hit on six of their last seven possessions with Johnson scoring on all but one of those. The final run was 14-6 for the Tigers, leading to the 10-point win.
“It was those two big runs that Thibodaux made” Destrehan coach Todd Bourg said. “We lost our composure on defense. We let (Johnson) get open, and he can shoot the ball. We didn’t guard him, and he hits a couple of threes, and then again in the second half, we cut it down to two, and the same thing happened. We had a lot of shots right at the basket but we didn’t put them in the hole.”
Demarcus Mitchell had 10 for the Tigers.