Sunkist Tournament Day One: Recap
Sunkist has become one of the biggest tournaments in Louisiana each and every year. Can personally speak to the enjoyment of how smoothly the tournament runs from entry into the gym, to games being on time, and especially to the…
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Continue ReadingSunkist has become one of the biggest tournaments in Louisiana each and every year. Can personally speak to the enjoyment of how smoothly the tournament runs from entry into the gym, to games being on time, and especially to the quality of the hospitality room. Sure, the last one is a favorite among members there but the talent level on the court is always extraordinary as well.
Game 1 was Episcopal School of Acadiana taking on Slidell. The 5A Slidell squad ended up being a bit too much for Class B ESA while forcing 25 turnovers that led to a 18 shot advantage for the Tigers. Ben Nelson led the way for Slidell with 17 while junior big man Mason Shuffler had 17 for ESA. While ESA nearly shot 60% from the field, the 17 to 2 steal advantage for Slidell was too much.
Next up was 5A Comeaux vs 4A Tioga and this was a battle of size versus guards as Comeaux had the obvious advantage down low and it led to a +18 rebound margin and a very tough 8 point win. Sophomore 6’6 wing Devaughn Thomas led the way with 21 points and 8 rebounds on only 12 shots for Comeaux and senior PG for Tioga Caleb Hebert answered with 16 points 6 rebounds, and 5 steals.
The 5A match-up between Alexandria Senior High (ASH) and St. Aug. This was destined to be a defensive battle from the beginning as Aug pulled out the low scoring 36-28 win over ASH. When ASH big man Chris Lewis (senior F, signed to LSUA) went down, it was evident scoring would be a struggle. He led them with 5 points in the game. Caleb Daniels (2017, G) led Aug with 14 points and 7 rebounds while senior PG DJ Jones had 6 points, 6 rebounds, and numerous assists.
Game 4 saw Texas A&M signee Robert Williams (2016 F) and North Caddo take on Acadiana. Williams ended the game with 20 points, 19 rebounds, 8 blocks, 5 steals, and numerous outlets leading to easy buckets and North Caddo won easily 62-49. Soph wing Chris Thomas had 16 points and 7 rebounds as well. For Acadiana, Jacob Maxwell was taxed with the Williams match-up and responded well with 18 points of his own.
The 1A match-up was 5th as Grambling Lab (ranked #2 in 1A) took on Ascension Episcopal. This turned in to a 2 on 2 match-up and Tylan Dean (2017 G, 18 points, 4 steals) and Kaedrick Williams (2017 W, 18 points, 10 rebounds) took the 59-45 win for Grambling Lab over Eli Mouton (2018 PG, 19 points 6 assists) and Ronald LeBlanc (2017 W, 20 points, 5 rebounds). Mouton was certainly the entertainer in this one though.
The Carencro Golden Bears took on the Brother Martin Crusaders as the gym began to fill. Game 6 saw Carencro jump out early and hold on to the lead throughout. 2018 W Braylon Chaisson led the way with 16 points, 8 rebounds and numerous charges taken for Carencro while senior Arden Adams has 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists to fill the stat sheet. For BM, it was 2017 football star Tre Swilling who led the way with 17 points before fouling out.
Hosts St. Thomas More took on Catholic New Iberia next and the game was over early. Big man Will Vincent led STM with a double double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in a spread out scoring effort. Jude Joseph also had 11 points for STM. For Catholic N.I., it was Semaj Flugence and Chuck Bernard with 13 a piece as STm won 59-33.
The game over the night came last as the LCA Knights took on A.J. Ellender. It was a back and forth game with big plays galore and the gym rocking as LCA came away with a 67-61 thriller. In the losing effort, Davontavean Martin led all scorers with 21 points and added 6 rebounds. For LCA, it was McNeese signee G Kalob LeDoux with 20 points and 7 rebounds and Greg Williams (2018 PG) with 13 points 9 rebounds and 4 assists plus a monstrous dunk late.