Hamilton Christian started with a young, inexperienced team this season, but that didn’t stop them from adding to the Warriors’ tradition of deep playoff runs.

The No. 4 Warriors will play in the semifinals for the seventh time since 2017 against Select Division IV No. 1 Crescent City at 4:30 p.m. today at Burton Coliseum.

“I have so much inexperience on this group,” Hamilton Christian head coach Dexter Washington said. “That is unbelievable.

“It just shows you that sometimes it’s not the team of the year, it’s the traditions that you built in the previous years that allow the ones that come behind you the opportunity to believe that they’re supposed to be where they are. It’s like our tradition is going to the final four.”

Hamilton Christian played in the semifinals in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024 and 2025.

Senior Seth Ned is the Warriors’ leading scorer at 18 points a game, but a trio of sophomores have played big roles this season in Javon Vital (14 ppg, 10 rpg, 5 apg), Justin Weston (8 ppg) and Chris Rideau (11 ppg).

“Our culture is playing hard and believing we can play with anybody,” Washington said. “So the next group of kids that suit up, they already automatically know if ‘I’m going to put this uniform on, I’m going to play against the best, and this is where I’m supposed to end up’.

“We probably won some games because of that this year. We were outmatched in a lot of games this year, and I knew it. The only thing that they couldn’t take away from us was the Warrior tradition of we’re going to play you four quarters all game, win, lose, or draw.”

Washington said the Warriors’ three-point loss to defending Non-select Division II state champion Wossman on Dec. 6 was telling of what type of season they were going to have.

“It started early in the year,” Washington said. “When we went to Baton Rouge to play Madison Prep was when I felt like this group of kids might have a chance, and a lot of it had to do with our scheduling.

“I felt like they had a chance when we played at the Showdown in the Lake against Wossman, and we competed so hard with an opportunity to win at the end or tie the game. They believed in it. I think the Wossman game made them believe they could play with anybody in the state.”

Crescent City won the Select Division IV state championship last season but had to forfeit it because of an eligibility problem. They return their top player from last season in junior Dwight McGee, last year’s Louisiana Sports Writers Association Class 1A MVP.

“Just watching them on a little bit of film, they can shoot the ball and play well,” Washington said. “They’re going to rely a lot on McGee scoring, and we know that.

“We just got to limit what he does and try to let the rest of the people beat us.”