LHSAA Class B and C Tournament Preview
2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Boys' Top 28 Basketball Tournament Class C 2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Boys' Top 28 Basketball Tournament Class B Above you’ll see the links to get to the brackets for the respective classes in this article. First…
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Continue Reading2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Boys' Top 28 Basketball Tournament Class C
2016 Allstate Sugar Bowl/LHSAA Boys' Top 28 Basketball Tournament Class B
Above you’ll see the links to get to the brackets for the respective classes in this article. First we’ll take a look at Class C and B with both players and teams to watch throughout the tournament. Only 28 teams make Class C while 31 make Class B. That means 4 teams get a first round bye for Class C while only the number 1 seed gets a bye in Class B. In the past, these classes have been extremely fun to watch with entertaining games in the Top 28. None of the schools in these classifications have football so they’ve been looking for something to compete on a big stage in for quite some time. All roads lead to Lake Charles where the final four for each of the seven classes make up the Top 28. With future changes on the horizon, this may be the last season we see things play out this way in the state of Louisiana.
Class C
Class C has been a battle all season both at the top and those teams vying for home court in the first round. There are teams who played a plethora of games against higher classes and those that stuck to playing in some of the smaller classifications. There are traditional powers that are still hanging around the Top 10 and a couple new faces that are looking to make a splash in Marsh Madness as well. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone outside of the Top 6 or so will be able to crack the Top 28.
Elizabeth and Atlanta have held the Top 2 spots in LHSAA and our Power Rankings for the majority of the year. They are clearly the front-runners to meet in the title game but that doesn’t mean there aren’t a ton of challengers along the way. Elizabeth is led by senior 6’3 G/F Kolby Friday who is one of the better inside-out scorers in the class while the 2017 combination of 6’0 guard Lashard Powell and 6’2 F Joshua Pennywell make Atlanta a threat after losing in the finals two of the last 4 years.
Summerfield and Starks are the 3rd and 4th seeds respectively. Summerfield has played some of the tougher Class C and B schools throughout the season. The 5 seed New Living Word has won back to back titles but graduated quite a few seniors last season. They have played an incredibly tough schedule and are led by senior 6’0 G Rashaan Proctor. Meanwhile, the young roster of Jehovah-Jireh, led by 2018 6’2 PG Donald Johnson, is sitting as the 6 seed and ready to make a run. They have not lost since December 28th.
Class B
Much like in Class C, Class B has had some interesting battles throughout the season for footing in the rankings. The Top 5 seeds have all played for a state title at some point in the last 4 seasons which means there is quite a bit of experience on rosters that often see players see the court before entering their freshman season. Last season’s Top 28 overall MVP in senior 6’4 G/F Will Reese is back looking for a repeat in both team and individual awards.
He’ll lead the 3 seed Anacoco Indians team looking to be the first team to repeat since Zwolle in 2011 and 2012. Zwolle enters this season’s playoffs as the 4 seed and is looking for yet another state title as one of the more storied teams in LHSAA history. Simsboro is the 1 seed and led by senior 6’0 G Zachary Taylor. He’ll get a chance to rest this week as they are the lone team with a bye in round 1.
The 2 seed Fairview used a district playoff win over Reese and Anacoco to secure the 2 seed. It won’t make much of a difference if both are able to reach the Top 28 for yet another showdown between Reese and Fairview senior 6’2 G Brennon Maddox. Midland as the 5 seed is looking to win 2 of the past 3 championships in Class B and avenge their finals loss last year to Anacoco. Another player to watch is junior 6’5 F from Hathaway Trenton Guidry.