Tough losses for Trailblazers, Tors and Lions, six teams move on to quarterfinals
Published 9:00 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026
It was a rough night for Southwest Louisiana boys basketball teams on Tuesday in the regional round of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association playoffs. Vinton lost by one at home, while Sulphur and Lake Charles College Prep lost highly contested overtime games at home.
Select Division II No. 5 LCCP (21-7) lost to No. 12 Northside (22-13) 66-65 in overtime. It was the Trailblazers’ third consecutive loss in a home playoff opener after losses to University Lab and Washington-Marion in 2025 and 2024.
“We had some times where we went up, and defensively we just didn’t get the stops we needed and kind of let their guys dictate what they wanted to do offense,” LCCP head coach Sean Andrus said. “It hurt us because we gave up too many three-pointers and too many second-chance opportunities at the rim, which caused us to get into foul trouble.”
Javon Vital hit a three-pointer to send the game into overtime, but the Trailblazers got into foul trouble. Vital, Caiden Jones, and Jordan Levier fouled out. Freshman Terrell Ceasar Jr. hit a three-pointer with five seconds left, but LCCP didn’t have any timeouts left to stop the clock.
After trailing by five points in the first quarter, LCCP gained some momentum late in the second quarter. The Trailblazers took their first lead, 17-16, with six minutes, eight seconds left in the second quarter after Jordan Dugas blocked a shot and turned it into a layup. Byron Glodd hit a three from the corner with a second left in the first half for a 25-24 lead.
In Sulphur, the Non-select No. 7 Tors (28-5) erased an 11-point deficit, but No. 23 Parkway (15-15) pulled another upset to end the Tors’ 16-game win streak in overtime, 63-57.
With a minute left in regulation, Sulphur’s Deb Turner charged into the lane on the left side and scored for a 49-48 lead, but Parkway’s Caleb Evans scored on a putback with 18 seconds left to tie the game at 50-50. The Tors never took the lead in overtime, and the Panthers led by as many as six points.
Cole Doucet led Sulphur with 28 points.
Vinton (21-7), the Non-select Division IV runner-up last season, led by as many as seven points twice in the fourth quarter, but North Central (18-17) rallied with a 9-2 run to end the Lions’ season.
Khailen Ross nailed a deep three-pointer at the end of the third quarter and another early in the fourth for a 42-35 lead. Ethan Perez’s turnaround jumper in the lane with four minutes left gave the Lions a 44-37 advantage. Vinton clung to a one-point lead after another bucket by Perez with 36 seconds left, but North Central’s Sherman Smith Jr. dribbled along the baseline and scored the game-winner with 20 seconds left.
Survivors
Six Southwest Louisiana teams – Washington-Marion, St. Louis Catholic, Lake Arthur, Lacassine, Hathaway, and Singer – survived the regional round on Tuesday.
Select Division II No. 3 W-M r(19-8) eturned to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 after a 66-53 win over No. 19 George Washington Carver (16-14). Monte Farmer and Victor Fisher Jr. scored 19 points each.
In Select Division III, No. 6 St. Louis Catholic (18-10) routed No. 11 Independence (26-8) at home 63-39. Dreylon O’key scored eight of his 15 points in the first quarter as the Saints racked up a 20-5 lead.
Defending state champion Lacassine (25-6) pulled away from No. 13 Simsboro (13-15) in the fourth quarter to win 77-57. Maliki Broussard (28 pts) and Shy’Heff Willis (17 pts) combined for 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Remy Prudhomme (16 pts) went 4-for-4 from the free throw line. The trio combined to score 61 of the Cardinals’ 77 points.
Non-select Division IV No. 6 Lake Arthur (17-12) moved on to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2020 with a 68-55 win over No. 11 Jeanerette (13-10), and Class C No. 11 Singer (18-15) upset No. 6 Claiborne Christian (22-10) 66-60. Class B No. 7 Hathaway beat No. 10 Fairview 51-39 on Feb. 27.
