Five non-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 "non-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><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/five-select-quarterfinal-lhsaa-playoff-matchups-to-watch/">Check out more information on top select matchups</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Southside at No. 3 New Iberia — Division-I Non-Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sharks are in the quarterfinals for the first time in the school's young history, while the Yellow Jackets are back for the third straight spring and trying to complete their mission after a 2023 runner-up finish. Southside scratched out a win in a staggeringly low-scoring district matchup, 32-29, earlier this month on New Iberia's home court and also won the teams' meeting last season. Guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105528' first='Noah' last='Brookter']</strong>, <strong>Jayce Bolivar</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560403' first='Quentin' last='Carey']</strong> are among the senior leaders for the Sharks, with juniors <strong>Jaydon Bolivar</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1347258' first='Jaydon' last='Norbert']</strong> among other top names to know. The Yellow Jackets boast the game's highest-profile prospect in Xavier (New Orleans)-signed forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1218192' first='Wayne' last='Randall-Bashay']</strong>, along with senior point guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105534' first='Austin' last='Delahoussaye']</strong>, senior wing <strong>Kentravion Smith</strong> and junior wings <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2207009' first='Otis' last='Anderson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1709796' first='Devin' last='Frank']</strong> and <strong>Khaled Fusilier</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Bossier at No. 3 Carroll —  Division-II Non-Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rematch of last season's title game — with reigning champion Bossier traveling to runner-up Carroll — will mark the fourth straight postseason the teams have run into one another with 2021 and 2022 quarterfinals also in that span. The Bearkats have won the past two and make the trip down Interstate 20 behind senior guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105539' first='Javon' last='Johnson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1892515' first='Keyshun' last='Johnson']</strong>, juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1393932' first='Kerel' last='Woods-Dean']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2302369' first='Kameron' last='Davenport']</strong> and talented sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2466399' first='Justin' last='Slaid']</strong>. The Bulldogs are led by their own cast of ranked upperclassman standouts in senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1388006' first='Lavion' last='Owens']</strong> and the junior guard duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1362436' first='Treylan' last='Neal']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1347173' first='Jaden' last='Williams']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 6 Marksville at No. 3 Winnfield — Division-II Non-Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lower-seeded Marksville beat Winnfield, 59-58, in an early-season thriller in December at Alexandria's tournament, and the two central Louisiana programs will meet again, this time in Winnfield, with a trip to next week's state tournament on the line. Winnfield reached the 2022 quarterfinals as a No. 10 seed and 2023 title game as a No. 3 seed before having each run fall victim to Port Allen's dominant run for four straight state championships. Senior guards <strong>Decavian Duncan</strong> and <strong>CL Davis</strong>, junior wing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1923298' first='Jaylon' last='Jackson']</strong>, junior forwards <strong>Ja'Ven Jackson</strong> and <strong>Damascus Lewis</strong> and sophomore guard <strong>Craig St. Cyr</strong> are among Winnfield's top players to know. And seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2382738' first='Marcus' last='Price'] Jr.</strong> and <strong>Zach Shuler</strong> and junior <strong>Elidrick Murray</strong> are among the leaders of a Marksville team back in the quarterfinals for the first time since back-to-back 2005 and 2006 state tournament appearances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 7 Slidell at No. 2 Ponchatoula —  Division-I Non-Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The No. 2 seed Green Wave, the defending champions, won all six of their games in February by at least 20 points and an average of 26.3 points per victory. The most recent team to play them closer? The No. 7 Tigers in an outright battle, 73-71, in district play at the end of January. Slidell is back in quarterfinals for the first time since 2017 with particularly strong performances by the senior guard duo of <strong>Jaden Hookfin</strong> and <strong>Jereme Landor</strong>, senior forward <strong>Micaiah Birdlow</strong> and juniors <strong>James Chaney</strong> and <strong>Kolby Rachel</strong>. Seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1480391' first='Allen' last='Graves']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1434766' first='Jeremiah' last='Lewis']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275273' first='Taj' last='Jackson']</strong> led the way for Ponchatoula once again in the second round with juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2207012' first='Cory' last='Jackson'] Jr.</strong> and <strong>C.J. Braziel</strong> among the top non-senior players to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 8 Ruston at No. 1 Zachary —  Division-I Non-Select</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bearcats topped the Broncos in December in the Division-I Non-Select football state championship, but the schools haven't met in a regular season or playoff basketball game in more than a decade. The Division-I Non-Select bracket has felt to more likely than not be a collision course between the top two seeds and past two champions in Zachary and Ponchatoula, but with Ruston — winners of 16 of its past 18 after a slow start to the season without its multisport athletes — among the most capable and likely potential spoilers. Seniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105544' first='Jamadrion' last='Lillard']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1892516' first='Zhy'Avion' last='Scott']</strong> and <strong>Trey Dimmer</strong> and juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1347443' first='Aidan' last='Anding']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2406650' first='Joran' last='Parker']</strong> have been among the veteran leaders and playmakers, with freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2132725' first='Ahmad' last='Hudson']</strong> consistently living up to — if not exceeding early hype — as one of the top young players in not only the state, but the nation. A pair of talented wings in senior <strong>BeeJay Brooks</strong> and junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1347180' first='Xavier' last='Ferguson']</strong> and the quick senior guard duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2197029' first='Kheiri' last='Haynes']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275302' first='Amir' last='Chaney']</strong> leading the way, senior <strong>D.J. Franklin</strong> a notable post presence and sophomore forward <strong>Kristion Brooks</strong> as a young player to know.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->