Five select quarterfinal LHSAA playoff matchups to watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Forty schools around Louisiana will host their final basketball games of the season this week — 10 divisions' worth of quarterfinals with trips to next week's state tournament on the line.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here were five games from the "select" school brackets that caught our attention, due in no small part to the notable talent on the rosters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 10 Scotlandville at No. 2 Liberty Magnet —  Division-I Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Baton Rouge powerhouses will square off for third time this season and second time in less than a month after 10- and 7-point victories by the Patriots in the previous two meetings. Scotlandville has reached a state championship game every year since 2010, but as a No. 1, 2 or 3 seed in each instance. This year's team is hoping to mount more of a Cinderella run by seeding standards, but still brings not only a wealth of tradition, but talented leaders that include star point junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1499023' first='Jamal' last='Drewery']</strong>, senior shooting guard <strong>Ja'Marriyon Brown</strong> fresh off 32 points Tuesday and senior big man <strong>LaMarkus Williams</strong>. Liberty Magnet is aiming to get back to its second title game in three years and complete the mission behind senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105591' first='Howard' last='Gaskins'] Jr.</strong> and forwards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1408867' first='Jaylen' last='Peters']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560409' first='Marquise' last='McPipe']</strong> and junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2408250' first='Malek' last='Robinson']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 12 St. Michael at No. 4 Archbishop Shaw —  Division-II Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Warriors are among the lower seeds still playing this weekend, but — similar to Scotlandville — that seeding may overstate the "underdog" or surprise dynamics at play. St. Michael makes its fifth straight quarterfinal trip with those previous runs coming as a No. 5, No. 7, No. 8 and No. 10 seed, including semifinals in 2021 and 2022. Junior shooting guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2574790' first='Sean' last='Brown']</strong> is the hottest hand, fresh off 24 points Tuesday in a road upset of No. 5 Vandebilt Catholic, and among the leaders with senior guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1357904' first='Hayden' last='Bessonet']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2132641' first='Jude' last='Hardie']</strong> and fellow junior <strong>Josh Bertrand</strong>. For Archbishop Shaw, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560388' first='Christian' last='Creppel']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1892405' first='Xavier' last='Meyers']</strong>, <strong>William Lewis Jr.</strong> and <strong>Jaden Vappie</strong> are the senior leaders, with junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1601451' first='Kobe' last='Butler']</strong> playing a huge role anchoring the defense inside and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2132726' first='Allen' last='Shaw III']</strong> a freshman already playing a big role and a young name to know for years to come. The Eagles reached the 2023 semifinals and have been determined to return to the state tournament and complete the mission.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Southwood at No. 3 Captain Shreve — Division-I Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Shreveport and District 1-5A rivals will meet for the third time in a span of 30 days, with the higher-seeded Gators winning the previous two — the first in a 20-point blowout, but the latter by just four. Louisiana (Lafayette)-signed big man <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105536' first='Jeremiah' last='Evans']</strong> is one of the state's top-ranked seniors with guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1484700' first='Maurice' last='Cason']</strong>, forward <strong>Kamauri Fleming</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1386497' first='Travis' last='Brooks']</strong> and wings <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1697889' first='Dylan' last='Bell']</strong> and <strong>Detreveon "Tre" Lars</strong> among other notables to watch in the Cowboys' deep 2024 class. Wings <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105551' first='Jyrin' last='Sowell']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1699870' first='E'Joshua' last='McDonald']</strong> and power forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1699846' first='Aaron' last='Guin']</strong> are among the Gators' senior leads, with junior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1561807' first='Marcus' last='Lofton']</strong>, fresh off a strong second-round performance, among younger standouts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Lafayette Christian at No. 3 G.W. Carver —  Division-II Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Knights avenged a recent district loss to Northside in the second round behind a monster performance by Tulane signee [player_tooltip player_id='1105554' first='Kameron' last='Williams'], the state's top-ranked senior, and a strong defensive showing overall as a team. Williams is joined on Prep Hoops Louisiana's 2024 list by fellow ranked seniors such as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1982180' first='Jeremy' last='Bargky']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560394' first='Morgan' last='Collins']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2132625' first='Deon' last='Wheeler']</strong>. And standout sophomore <strong>Graham Comeaux</strong> and well-known football standouts such as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105583' first='Trae' last='Grogan']</strong>, <strong>Sandy Lewis</strong> and <strong>Jalen Noel </strong>help further highlight a deep rotation. Next up: a trip to defending champion G.W. Carver in New Orleans, where the Rams routed De La Salle in the second round. Big man <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1394530' first='Daijon' last='Leatherman']</strong> is one of the state's top juniors, with senior guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105549' first='Laurence' last='Nathan']</strong> and <strong>Stanley Waterhouse</strong> running the offense and sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1680452' first='Chesney' last='Sadler']</strong> capable of lighting up the scoreboard. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Hamilton Christian at No. 3 Southern Lab —  Division-IV Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rematch of a nail-biting 2022 semifinal highlights a limited slate of Thursday game. The Warriors and Kittens bring not only a wealth of postseason tradition, but some notable star power into the small-schools matchup. Freshman guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2313822' first='Javon' last='Vital']</strong> and sophomore big man <strong>DeRay Vital</strong> are the headline prospects for Hamilton Christian, with seniors <strong>Omarion Green</strong>, <strong>Garrett Humphery</strong> and <strong>Samuel Knight</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2302337' first='Seth' last='Ned']</strong> among the leading upperclassmen. Rebounding machine <strong>Troy Murphy</strong> is among the familiar standouts of a strong Southern Lab senior class that includes guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165194' first='Bryson' last='Chapman']</strong>, <strong>Cameron Hardnett</strong> and <strong>Joseph Harris</strong> with junior big man <strong>Charles LeBlanc</strong> and junior guard <strong>Braylon Brown</strong> also among the standouts on a veteran team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->