NAPOLEONVILLE-- Assumption High boys basketball coach Derek Szush stressed the importance to his team all week of starting fast in the first and third quarters.
That message was clearly received.
The Mustangs raced out to an early 9-0 lead and never looked back as they used 28 points from Josh Ratcliff to coast to a 74-56 win over the South Terrebonne Gators in District 7-4A basketball action Tuesday night in Mustang Gym.
“The main thing we wanted to focus on were the first three minutes of the first quarter and the first three minutes of the third quarter and that is something that we have really been putting an emphasis on,” Szush said. “Especially those first three minutes of the third quarter because that’s where people make their adjustments and it’s all about who is going to adjust when I comes to district basketball. I thought we did a good job adjusting. We were aggressive, and we stayed aggressive.”
Assumption opened the game with the 9-0 run thanks to a pair of turnovers, as well as four points from Steven McBride (15 points), a basket by Ratcliff and a 3-pointer by Chandler Breaux (five points) to take control early.
South Terrebonne eventually scored its first basket of the night at the 10-minute mark of the first quarter on a basket by Devonta Miller (14 points) to cut Assumption’s lead to 9-2.
The Mustangs (14-14 overall, 2-0 in district) however, eventually used a 4-0 run capped off by a Ratcliff basket to take a 21-8 lead midway through the first quarter and used a 5-0 run to close out the quarter to take control 26-11 after a pair of Ratcliff buckets.
South Terrebonne coach Caleb White said the slow start is what ultimately did his team in, as they were never able to recover from the early miscues.
“We turned the ball over a few times for easy baskets and I felt like once we dug the hole, we spent most of our effort trying to get out of it,” White said. “At that point, it was tough to come back. We just did not execute like we needed to tonight.”
After another Ratcliff bucket to open the second quarter the Gators used a 3-0 run and another 4-0 run, capped off by a Connor Brunet (seven points) to cut the Mustangs lead to 30-18.
Another 4-0 Gator run, capped off by Tyler Smith (nine points) bucket, helped South Terrebonne cut the Mustangs lead to 32-22.
The two teams traded buckets the rest of the way with McBride nailing a 3-pointer in the waning moments to give Assumption the 37-26 lead at halftime.
Assumption took full control in the third quarter, winning the first three minutes like Szush had hoped.
The Mustangs opened the quarter with a free throw by Ratcliff and a bucket by McBride to increase their lead to 40-26 before South Terrebonne (12-13 overall, 1-1 District 7-4A) used a bucket by Smith to make the score 40-28.
After that, Assumption used a 10-0 run, capped off by a layup from Ratcliff, to take control 50-28.
The Mustangs later used runs of 4-0 and 5-0 later in the quarter to take a 64-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Gators used three 5-0 runs in the fourth quarter but were unable to pull any closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
With the district season now in full force, Szush said he believes his team is right where they need to be at this point of the season as they now turn their attention to Friday night’s showdown with the South Lafourche Tarpons.
“We are where we need to be,” he said. “We found stuff we are comfortable with. Where we are is where I hoped we would be at this point. Playoff positioning, if we take care of business, I think we will be just fine. We still have to South Lafourche. It’s going to be a tough environment and that is on the staff to prep the team because it is going to be a playoff type atmosphere and a playoff type game.”
Donyell Washington aided Assumption in the cause as well, finishing the night with 11 points.
TUESDAY’S GIRLS BASKETBALL CAPSULES
ST. JOHN 46, CENTRAL LAFOURCHE 32 (at Plaquemine, nondistrict game)
Records: St. John (14-8 overall); Central Lafourche (15-14 overall)
THIBODAUX 47, DESTREHAN 20 (at Destrehan, District 7-5A game)
Statistical leaders: Thibodaux — Sasha Jones (20 points), Bren’naisa Adams (11 points), Shantavia Nora (seven points)
Records: Thibodaux (18-8 overall, 5-2 in district); Destrehan (4-18 overall, 2-5 in district)
HAHNVILLE 51, TERREBONNE 21 (at Houma, District 7-5A game)
Records: Hahnville (14-12 overall, 6-2 in district); Terrebonne (11-16 overall, 2-6 in district)
SOUTH LAFOURCHE 81, VANDEBILT CATHOLIC 29 (at Houma, District 7-4A game)
Statistical leaders: South Lafourche — Traya Bruce (20 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals), Victorianna Nelson (13 points, six rebounds, four assists), Sierra Lerille (12 points, five steals), Makayla Bynum (nine points, five steals)
Records: South Lafourche (17-8 overall, 2-1 in district); Vandebilt (5-6 overall, 0-2 in district)
ST. JAMES 63, DONALDSONVILLE 57, OT (at Donaldsonville, District 10-3A game)
Score by quarter: Donaldsonville led 16-15 after the first quarter, 35-20 at halftime, 40-35 at the end of the third quarter and it was tied at 44 at the end of regulation.
Statistical leaders: St. James — Charity Cooper (22 points), Lauryn Scott (20 points), Raveon Fletcher (19 points)
Note: St. James trailed by as much as 17 points in the third quarter.
Records: St. James (13-7 overall, 4-0 in district); Donaldsonville (10-13 overall, 2-1 in district)
HOUMA CHRISTIAN 75, ST. MARTIN’S 37 (at Metairie, District 8-1A game)
Statistical leaders: Houma Christian — Xariel Washington (19 points), Kourtne Lee (16 points), Jordan Marie (14 points), Dalesia Williams (nine points)
Records: Houma Christian (23-2 overall, 4-0 in district); St. Martin’s (9-7 overall, 1-1 in district)
H.L. BOURGEOIS GIRLS GAME POSTPONED
The H.L. Bourgeois girls District 7-5A basketball game set for Tuesday against East St. John in Reserve will now be played on Feb. 7 after officials could be secured for the game.
--Compiled by sports writer Kelly McElroy.