5 non-select second-round matchups to watch | LHSAA Playoffs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The opening round of the LHSAA's boys basketball playoffs Thursday and Friday provided two overtime thrillers and another 23 nail-biters decided by five points or fewer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>And the level of competition only ramps up Monday and Tuesday with the second round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here were five games on the schedule that caught our attention among the non-select divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 9 Salmen at No. 8 Northshore (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The cards fell perfectly into place for a second-round battle for Slidell as the Spartans and Panthers meet, located just five miles apart, meet for the first time this season. The crosstown rivals compete in different classifications — Class 4A and Class 5A, respectively — during the regular season, but the same playoff division under the somewhat condensed postseason format. Each team went 2-1 this regular season against Class 5A Slidell High.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most interesting layer of personal familiarity is that second-year Northshore coach Josh Carlin, the LSWA's Class 5A Coach of the Year in 2022, spent the previous two years at Salmen where he succeeded his father, Jay, the longtime coaching legend who had led the Spartans since the mid-1980s.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But the rosters are also full of talented student-athletes who have grown up playing with and against one another. Explosive Northshore junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1145438' first='Kohen' last='Rowbatham']</strong> is the headliner from a prospect standpoint, with seniors <strong>Gabriel James</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275293' first='Tyrell' last='Yates']</strong> alongside him in the backcourt, <strong>James Bridges</strong> on the wing and stretch big <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2173476' first='Dawson' last='Knox']</strong> providing front-court versatility. Seniors <strong>Damian Bennett</strong>, <strong>Rob Johns</strong>, <strong>Jermane Weber</strong> and juniors <strong>Jeremiah Carter</strong> and <strong>Shawn Washington</strong> are among top players to watch for Salmen.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 12 Hahnville at No. 5 Ouachita (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Most of the other top matchups to watch Tuesday involve quite a bit more travel for lower seeds with a slew of intriguing north-vs-south tilts. In the top division, high-level senior scorer <strong>Cameron Lamar</strong>, versatile sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560453' first='Cobe' last='Landry']</strong> and company will lead Hahnville up to the edge of Monroe and the Madhouse on Millhaven to square off with a Ouachita group led by the senior trio of forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1130809' first='Jonathan' last='Bradshaw']</strong> and guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1213812' first='Jordan' last='Davis']</strong> and <strong>James Ross</strong>. The Tigers' second-round visit to the Lions is a rematch of a 2020 quarterfinal, when all the seniors were freshmen. Hahnville won that game, 70-67, to advance to its first of back-to-back semifinal appearances. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 12 Plaquemine at No. 5 St. Martinville (Division-II)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Green Devils return to the second round for the ninth time in the past 10 years after a first-round stumble in 2022. That decade of runs includes plenty of history, with mixed results, in the Acadiana area. But, for the first time in that span, regular season or postseason, Plaquemine and St. Martinville will meet on the basketball court. The Green Devils bring a veteran group led by senior guards <strong>Corey Oubre Jr.</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560446' first='Kameron' last='Ranel']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273382' first='Jase' last='Washington']</strong> and juniors <strong>Vincent Dawson</strong> and <strong>Aidan Joseph</strong>. St. Martinville's leaders include their own senior trio in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1559595' first='JayVyn' last='Duncan']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='970136' first='Harvey' last='Broussard']</strong> and <strong>Jevion Sam</strong> and junior guard <strong>Delian Mallery</strong>, who led the Tigers through the first round Friday with 24 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 12 Donaldsonville at No. 5 Rayville (Division-III)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another of the state's most notable second-round matchups, coincidentally another 5-vs-12 matchup, pits a pair of 2022 semifinalists against one another. Donaldsonville and Rayville both fell in last year's state tournament to eventual champions Madison Prep and Port Allen, respectively, in Class 3A and Class 2A. On Tuesday, the proud programs will compete for a quarterfinal berth. A pair of freshmen in <strong>Chase Schonberg</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2132651' first='Quinnton' last='Dabney']</strong> joined senior forward <strong>Robert Kent</strong> in double figures for Donaldsonville in the first round to advance. The Tigers now face a long road trip and tall task awaiting in a perennial power Rayville outfit headlined this year by senior guards <strong>Camron Smith</strong>, <strong>Getaydreyan Foster </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2399543' first='Zephaniah' last=''] Elmore</strong>, senior big man <strong>Clay Thompson</strong>, junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1543681' first='Kaleb' last='Jackson']</strong> and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1492966' first='Lantavious' last='Murphy']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 19 West Monroe at No. 3 Ponchatoula (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The young Rebels came back Friday to break host Denham Springs' heart, 53-50, and will make a second long trip in four days in hopes of a similarly poised performance at nearby Ponchatoula. Sophomore forward <strong>Kendrick Green</strong> was a monster on the glass, sophomore guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601906' first='Jayden' last='Jackson']</strong> was a pesky defender and timely bucket-getter and senior <strong>Chauncey Lee</strong> helped lead with determination and hustle. The big question for the home-standing Green Wave may be where star junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1480391' first='Allen' last='Graves']</strong> is in his recovery from a sprained ankle that sidelined him late in the regular season. The skilled, stretch big man is one of the state's biggest difference-makers and helps add to a gritty, guard-oriented Ponchatoula group a nice mismatch in almost any game. Senior guards <strong>Jayden Lewis</strong>, <strong>Cameron Collier</strong> and <strong>Trey Parham</strong> and juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1434766' first='Jeremiah' last='Lewis']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560454' first='Taj' last='Jackson']</strong> are among those perimeter leaders for the highly seeded and battle-tested Green Wave.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->