Monday and Tuesday Night Previews

<p>As we move into the last week of January, district races have begun to heat up. We are going to take a look at a few big time matchups for Monday and Tuesday across the state. We have multiple matchups involving state champs and runner-ups this week. Also we preview a huge matchup between the number one and the number two players in the class of 2020. It should make for a very interesting week of high school basketball.</p> <p><strong>Monday night matchups:</strong></p> <p><strong>Simsboro (23-7) @ Franklin Parish (19-6)</strong></p> <p><strong>The Matchup:</strong><br /> This matchup pits the class B defending state champion in Simsboro against a 4A program on the rise in Franklin Parish. Simsboro will not be phased by playing up against their 4A opponent. Coach Josh Brown has put his team to the test against teams from bigger classifications all season long. Simsboro already has multiple victories against 3A, 4A, and 5A competition this year. On the other side of things, Franklin Parish head coach Lonnie Cooper is enjoying his first full year with the Patriots this season. He has made quite the turnaround with his program in a short amount of time. It will be interesting to see how the great guard play of Simsboro matches up against the size and physicality of Franklin Parish.</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <p>Simsboro- 6'1 Sr guard Gianni Nelson, 6'2 Jr guard Jakemin Abney, and 6'0 Jr guard Kalep Crane</p> <p>Franklin Parish- 6'6 Sr forward Robert Coleman and Dontrell Hill</p> <p><strong>Many (10-9) @ St Mary's (16-5)</strong></p> <p><strong>The Matchup:</strong><br /> This game has class 2A Many going over to visit the 2018 state runner up in Division IV in St Mary's. St Mary's comes in red hot after winning 13 of their last 14 games. Many has proven to be a quality team this season after playing against very quality competition all year long. St Mary's will rely on 6'7 Jr forward Thomas Howell and 5'10 guard Parker Bankston. Howell has put up video game like numbers all year long for the Tigers. It will be interesting to see how Many tries to combat his versatility.</p> <p><strong>Tuesday night matchups:</strong></p> <p><strong>Walker (19-9) @ Scotlandville (25-1)</strong></p> <p><strong>The Matchup:</strong><br /> This one has the potential to be the matchup of the week with defending champion playing defending champion. Walker comes in as the class 5A defending state champs, while Scotlandville comes in as the 2x defending champs in divsion I. On paper this game looks like Scotlandville should handle its business. The hornets came into last week as high as the number 8 team in the country in one national poll. Don't expect Walker to back down. The Wildcats are led by two big time playmakers in Jalen Cook and Brian Thomas. It will be one of the best matchups of the year to see Scotlandville's Reece Beekman go head to head with Cook. Expect both guards to go at each other all night. Cook comes in as the #1 player in the state for the class of 2020, while Beekman is a close second. Beekman has made his case all year long to take the number one spot from Cook. I expect this game to be no different.</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <p>Walker- 6'0 Jr guard Jalen Cook and 6'4 So forward Brian Thomas Jr.</p> <p>Scotlandville- 6'3 Jr guard Reece Beekman, 6'1 Jr guard TaiReon Joseph, and 6'6 Jr forward Jonathan Horton</p> <p><strong>Delhi (19-5) @ Sicily Island (13-8)</strong></p> <p><strong>The Matchup:</strong><br /> In a district 2-1A rematch from a few weeks ago, Sicily Island will look to pull off the upset. Delhi picked up the win 76-70 the first time around. 2018 state 1A state runner-up Delhi puts out one of the biggest teams in the state. 6'6 senior Tyler Washington has led the Bears all year long with his versatility to shoot the deep ball, as well as use his length and get it to the rim when needed. Delhi also uses the size of 6'6 senior Cadavious Leggings and 6'5 Quatarious Jones on the inside. For Sicily Island, they are led by 6'2 junior Tyreke Toliver. Toliver is a do it all guard for the Tigers. He is a very streaky shooter that Delhi will have to keep from getting hot in this one.</p> <p><strong>Central Catholic (14-5) @ Lafayette Christian (20-4)</strong></p> <p><strong>The Matchup:</strong><br /> In a rematch from last year's quarterfinals, this game will feature division IV's #1 vs #2 according to the LHSAA's latest power rankings. Lafayette Christian comes in as the 2x defending state champion in division IV. Head coach Jaered Pike has picked up right where former head coach Byron Starks left off, and that's by keeping the Knights as a perennial contender in the state. Lafayette Christian comes in with their normal resume of wins against 3A, 4A, and 5A competition. Central Catholic comes in with an impressive record and schedule of its own that includes a win over the class 1A defending state champs in White Castle.</p> <p><strong>Jehovah-Jireh (26-4) vs University Lab (13-9)</strong><br /> <strong>The Matchup</strong><br /> One could argue that Jehovah-Jireh has played the toughest schedule in the state. They have wins over Dunham, Walker, White Castle, and Madison Prep just to name a few. They only have 4 losses on the year so far, with 3 of those being to Scotlandville, Landry Walker, and Bossier. On the other side, University Lab finds itself in a familiar place, at the top of the division II power rankings. Jehovah Jireh pulled out the win at home last year when these two met.</p> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong></p> <p>Jehovah Jireh- 5'10 Sr guard Jaron Davis and 6'3 Sr forward Dre'yon Robertson</p> <p>University Lab- 6'3 Sr forward Bryton Constantin</p>