Chapter 3 of the Hamilton Christian and Southern Lab rivalry will be written today in the Select Division IV boys basketball state championship game at Burton Coliseum. It will be the third time in four seasons that the teams have met in a high-stakes playoff game.

The Warriors (19-7) and Kittens (21-7) will play at 2 p.m.

Last season, the Warriors went on the road and knocked off the Kittens 57-49 in the quarterfinals. In 2022 at the Cajundome, Jonathan Butler hit a soul-crushing 3-pointer, and Southern Lab beat Hamilton 61-60 in the semifinals.

But the familiarity between the teams goes deeper. Hamilton Christian head coach Dexter Washington and Southern Lab head coach Harold Boudreaux are longtime friends and talk daily, Washington said. Boudreaux even sent supplies to Washington and the Warriors after Hurricane Laura in 2020.

“We’ve always been close, so it’s a great rivalry and a very competitive and a very physical one,” Washington said. “We know what they got. We know what makes them go, and I’m sure he does with us as well.

“Hal was one of the guys when the hurricane hit, he sent stuff down there to help.”

Washington remembers the loss to Southern Lab in 2022 well and hopes that playing at Burton Coliseum will be like a home game for the Warriors.

“That year, when we lost to Southern Lab, I felt like we had all the pieces at play,” Washington said. “And, of course, the gods went against us that night.

“We beat them at their place, and we’ve never had a home court on them, so we’re hoping that Lake Charles is our home court and gives us an advantage. I think we’ll have a crowd of people that’s going to follow the game.”

Washington said Monday’s 54-51 win over Crescent City was a confidence booster for the Warriors, most of whom had not played at the state tournament before.

“What I was afraid of in the first game is that I had so many kids that had never been in that facility to play ball, that their eyes would be so big that they would just freeze up,” Washington said. “When we started the game, and I saw what I saw when (Seth) Ned got off and when (Chris) Rideau got off, I knew then that we had a chance. The confidence level grew.”

The Warriors will have their eyes on seniors Braylon Brown and Charles LaGarde-LeBlanc, who combined for 37 points in the semifinals.

“They got a couple of guys, if you leave open, they’ll knock those shots down,” Washington said. “That’s what we’ve got to be cautious of, to keep them out of the penetration and taking the wide-open shot. We just don’t want to give them wide-open shots. I feel like we match up with them well.”

Hamilton has never won a state championship and last played in the final in 2019. Southern Lab is going for its 17th state championship, which would put the Kittens in a tie with state-leader Zwolle.