Three years ago, the Vinton Lions dragged through a sub-.500 season. Things started to tick up in 2023 and 2024, that included a No. 4 playoff ranking. But like 2022, they were one-and-done in the postseason.

In 2024-2025, everything fell into place for the Lions. They were ranked No. 1 in Non-select Division IV the majority of the season, won 20-plus games for the second consecutive season and now find themselves at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Marsh Madness boys state basketball tournament for the first time in program history.

No. 1 Vinton (23-5) plays No. 4 Ferriday (25-9) at 8 p.m. in the semifinals at Burton Coliseum.

“I’m just super excited for them,” Vinton head coach Keith Kelley said. “You tell kids all the time that grit is one of the most important things in their life for success.

“Grit simply means you got to put in the work and get the reward later, and these guys put in some amazing work over three years to reap a benefit, so I’m super proud of them.

“It’s been a long, long road. When they were freshmen, they took some lumps. I mean they got thrown to the wolves. They got thrown into the fire right away, which sometimes happens in schools our size. I’m super excited for them because they’ve been through quite a bit over the last three years.”

The Lions have no state tournament experience and had just three days to prep after winning their first quarterfinal game Friday over No. 9 White Castle. Kelley said they are keeping to the script that led them to the semifinals.

“We try to keep those things as close to the same as we can,” Kelley said. “I think if we do that, we give them as much normalcy for a big event like this as we can, and you just go play.”

The Lions had to show resilience in their quarterfinal game. Vinton led by as many as 25 points in the second half, but White Castle cut the deficit to 51-48 with two minutes left. Seniors D.J. Broussard (15), Jaheim Levias (13), Keithan Rigmaiden (17) combined for 45 points in the Lions 57-51 win over the Bulldogs.

“For us to fight through the physical play that we were experiencing, and we weren’t having a great night from the free throw line, but we did have some guys make some outstanding plays that helped us,” Kelley said. “We knew we had to control the defense glass, and we couldn’t give up offense and rebounds.

“We knew that we had to be patient on offense and make sure that we got good shots. I thought the majority of the first half we were able to do that.”

Ferriday is making its first appearance in the semifinals since a runner-up finish in 2008.

“I’ve been watching him on film over the last 48 hours 36 48 hours,” Kelley said. “I mean at this point everybody’s good.

“Everybody can play. Everybody has guys that can make shots. Everybody’s solid defenses, so they’re a better version of everything that we’ve played this season. We’re just going to have to be at our absolute best.”