Iowa guard Landon Langley shoots a 3-pointer over Acadian’s Kaynon Powell during a semifinal game at the Iowa/Mallett Builders tournament on Friday. (Rick Hickman / American Press)

By Damian Juneau

Special to the American Press

IOWA — The Iowa Yellow Jackets held off a late rally in the fourth quarter from the Acadiana Rams to take a 60-53 victory to reach the finals of the Iowa/Mallett Builders tournament.

Iowa will play Elton at 5 p.m. in the boys’ final. Elton beat Hathaway 81-46 in the other semifinal game.

Acadiana took a 49-48 lead with 4:58 to play in the fourth quarter before the late comeback. Curtis Deville then scored six points in a row for Iowa (6-0) to take a 54-49 lead they would never relinquish. Acadiana was able to cut the lead to 54-53 with 2:34 to play, but Iowa was closed the game with a 6-0 run to secure the victory.

The Yellow Jackets opened the game with a 12-0 run to take the early lead. Landon Langley got the Yellow Jackets going early by scoring 12 first quarter points to propel them to a 19-12 first quarter lead.

The second quarter saw Iowa extend its lead to a 30-16 halfway through the quarter. Iowa outscored the Rams 17-14 in the quarter behind 10 combined points from Langley and Deville to take a 36-26 halftime lead.

The Rams opened the third quarter with a couple of 3-pointers to cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 40-37 with 3:42 to play. The Rams first lead of the game didn’t come until 1:19 remaining in the third quarter.

Iowa was led in scoring by Deville who finished with 22 points. Langley added 18 points, including 16 in the first half.

Acadiana was led by Harold Remo who finished with 23 points.

Girls

Barbe . . . . . . . . . . 69

Hathaway . . . . . . . 52

The Barbe Bucs jumped on the Hathaway Hornets early and were able to take a 69-52 victory to advance to the finals of the Iowa tournament.

The Barbe Bucs will face the Welsh Greyhounds in the finals at 3:40 p.m.

Welsh beat DeRidder 46-24 in the other girls’ semifinal game.

“This was a huge win for us,” said Barbe Coach Trey DiGiglia. “I’m lucky to coach the best girls in the world as they work so hard. It was a great win for our program.”

The first quarter saw the Bucs jump out to an early 8-3 lead. The Hornets kept the game close with four 3-pointers in the first quarter with Lamiyah Sanchez knocking down three of them.

Areil Williams and Maya Guillory combined for 15 first quarter points for the Bucs to take a 24-19 advantage.

The teams continued the fast-paced game, going back and forth throughout the second quarter as Hathaway tied the game at 29-29 with 3:08 to play in the second quarter. A 3-pointer by Maleigha James gave Barbe a 35-32 lead which they would never relinquish the rest of the game. Barbe outscored Hathaway 15-14 in the second quarter to take a 39-33 halftime lead.

Mikaylah Manley’s 3-pointer with 7:01 to play in the third quarter gave the Bucs a 44-35 lead.

The Bucs led 48-38 before Sanchez scored six consecutive points for the Hornets to cut the Bucs’ lead to 48-44 with 1:50 to play. The Bucs closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 53-44 lead into the fourth quarter.

The scoring for Barbe scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 59-44 with 6:40 left in the game. Barbe used an 11-0 run over a three-minute time span to put the game out of reach.

The Bucs were led in scoring by Williams who finished with 25 points. Manley added 16 points.

“Areil Williams is as competitive as it gets,” said DiGiglia. “She is a great athlete, and her will to win is unbelievable.

“We definitely fed off of her energy tonight.”

The Hornets were led by Sanchez who finished with 20 points. Chloey Guidry added 19 points.