5 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 select divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No. 9 St. Augustine at No. 8 John Ehret (Division-I)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the state's proudest schools and programs takes the short trip across the Mississippi River to face a fellow New Orleans team led by one of the top senior prospects in the state. Talented forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1055170' first='John' last='Kelly'] III</strong>, his classmates <strong>Montel Robinson</strong> and <strong>Josh Grabert Jr.</strong> and several rising younger standouts will be waiting on the West Bank, as John Ehret hosts its first home playoff game since a 2011 semifinal run. Perennial power St. Augustine won the Class 5A championship that year — and against in 2021, with three runner-up appearances in between — and has another solid roster this year from its senior leaders, including <strong>Davis Oliver-Goodwin</strong>; to a talented junior group of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1386539' first='Turner' last='Duncan']</strong>, <strong>Bobby Kennedy</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1277348' first='Joshua' last='Jackson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105578' first='Hubert' last='Caliste']</strong> <strong>Jr.</strong> and <strong>Dandrick Green Jr.</strong>; and a sophomore group led by point guard <strong>Cy Merrett</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 9 Lake Charles College Prep at No. 8 L.B. Landry (Division-II)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Blazers won a school-record 25 games this regular season, including a piece of the title in a respectable district, then Friday added their first playoff victory since a 2019 quarterfinal run. Seniors <strong>Brandon Batiste</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1273402' first='Ryan' last='Batiste']</strong> and <strong>Martin Young</strong> help lead the way with multisport standouts <strong>Josiah Bushnell</strong> and <strong>Elijah Garrick</strong> among the headliners of a talented junior class behind them. They'll head to New Orleans where L.B. Landry seeks its third straight quarterfinal appearance — and, ultimately, more — in the final postseason for a deep and talented senior class led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1132619' first='Anthony' last='Johnson']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1381595' first='Shavurdacour' last='Nicholas']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1381585' first='Walter' last='Bickham']</strong> and <strong>Franswar Neal</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 10 Vermilion Catholic at No. 7 Southern Lab (Division-IV)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of just a few games around the state Monday will take at a Southern Lab gymnasium steeped in tradition. The Kittens meanwhile, after losing key seniors and a transfer following last season's state championship, navigated an up-and-down regular season against a challenging schedule with several larger-classification opponents. Senior <strong>Jonathan Butler </strong>and <strong>D'Lloyd Joseph</strong> and sophomore <strong>Braylon Brown </strong>are among notable players to watch. The visiting Screamin' Eagles delayed the start of their season until mid-December as their football team made a run to a state title game, and then the hoops group stumbled a pit out of the gate to a 2-3 record. They are 13-3 since then, however, including their first playoff win since 2019. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 11 University Lab at No. 6 St. Thomas Aquinas (Division-III)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cubs overcame a rough midseason skid — losing 11 of 13, including seven straight — to win five of its past six to reach this point. Senior guard <strong>Seth Mays</strong> is the driving force, with versatile junior big man <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1560441' first='Cooper' last='Coates']</strong> and a handful or so of physical, multisport athletes in between. Awaiting in Hammond is a Falcons group that has won 13 of its past 16 behind senior <strong>Logan Love</strong> and juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1285318' first='Cace' last='Reed']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1277346' first='Kendrell' last='Perry']</strong> and <strong>Najae Williams</strong>. The teams were scheduled to play in the final week of the regular season before cancelling to prepare for the playoffs. A year ago, U-High fell short of not only the semifinals for the first time since 2012, but the quarterfinals, while St. Thomas Aquinas made its first semifinal trip since going back-to-back in 2012 and 2013. So opportunities to advance this week loom large in the program's current historic statuses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>No. 15 Edna Karr at No. 2 St. Thomas More (Division-I)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Edna Karr held off another notable New Orleans program in Brother Martin, 64-61, on Friday for the right to head to Lafayette and challenge perennial power St. Thomas More in a battle of dueling Cougars. The backcourt led by juniors <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1277352' first='Keith' last='Jones']</strong> and <strong>Kevin Slaughter</strong> and senior <strong>E.J. Riley</strong> headlines the group trying to carry that momentum to the road. Junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1386535' first='Chad' last='Jones']</strong> is St. Thomas More's most highly ranked prospect, but he has plenty of talent around him in senior guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606993' first='Mason' last='Guillory']</strong> and <strong>Peyton Pratt</strong> and junior guards <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105548' first='Michael' last='Mouton']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1218185' first='Hays' last='Regard']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1105527' first='Anthony' last='Angelle']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->