West St. Mary uses defense to beat Catholic High

BALDWIN - Defense got Catholic High back in its game against West St. Mary on Friday.

And it was defense that won the Class 3A bi-district playoff game for the Wolfpack.

Catholic High rallied from a double-digit deficit to within 4 points with 1:58 remaining, but the Panthers misfired on their next five possessions and West St. Mary hit four of five free throws over the last minute to win 49-39.

"Defensively we got back in the game but on offense during that period we were doing things to get scoring opportunities," said CHS coach Nolan Theriot. "When we got it down to 3 or 4 points, three or four times during that stretch we took midrange jump shots (in) one-on-three or one-on-four (situations).

"Now if we make those nobody says anything. But I don't know any coach who would be saying that taking jump shots one on three is fundamentally sound."

West St. Mary coach Paul Reed said that he told his players that all the games the Wolfpack has won, its district championship and its playoff appearance are because of defense. WSM is 19-10 overall and went 7-1 in claiming the 7-3A crown.

"It sets up offensive opportunities," he said. "We've got to stick with our man-to-man defense."

That defense limited CHS to 36 percent shooting from the floor - 15 for 42 shots - and only 2-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line.

West St. Mary also wasn't scoring a lot, but had the right options when it needed them. Tony Morrison buried a 3-pointer in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter to push the Wolfpack's lead back to 9 points at 33-24.

After CHS cut it to 33-28 on baskets by Earl Thomas and Zeek Zacharie, Morrison hit another trey from the left side of the court and Harry Coleman worked inside to push the lead to 38-28.

Zacharie answered with a 3 of his own at the 5:35 mark, but nine seconds later Morrison let fly another 3-pointer to make it 41-31 at the 5:24 mark.

Morrison, whose 9 points came on those three shots over a 2 1/2 minute span, said he felt good shooting the ball.

"My teammates passed me the ball because they knew I was in the game to shoot the ball," he said.

Reed said he sat Morrison down for a bit to let him calm down.

"I told him to relax, look for his gap and put the ball up," said Reed. "That was the difference. He knows his role. He accepts his role and he stepped up to the challenge."

Coleman, who led all scorers with 16 points, had 10 in the first half. He had two dunks on the night, one a power one-hander following a steal early in the second quarter and the second capping off the scoring with 3.8 seconds remaining on an alley-oop pass from Ronald Provost. Provost finished with 13 points, including a 3-point shot.

"We were pleased to let them run time off the clock because we were trying to limit their possessions," said Theriot. "They're district champions, so we weren't going to run up and down the floor with them. I think everything worked out exactly how we wanted it to up to the last three or four minutes."

Cordell Jones had 5 points, including a 3-point bucket, for the Wolfpack. Kingsley Shearron scored 4 and Eldridge Gibson rounded out the scoring with 2 points.

"Give Catholic High credit," said Reed. "They really made us work. We needed that to move on to the next level. We had to step up our game to match them."

Zacharie paced the Panthers with 11 points and seven rebounds. Philip Mekash and Sean Comeaux scored 8 each and Matthew Desormeaux scored 5. Andrew Roussel scored 3 on a 3-point basket, and Earl Thomas and Jeremy LeBlanc had 2 each for the Panthers (17-13).

Theriot said he was proud of his team for not quitting this season.

"We had some horrendous games where we could've quit and we never did," he said. "This was the same program that three or four years ago couldn't win 10 games. Now people are looking at us and saying we lost the first playoff game. But it's baby steps. I'm hoping we can return to the playoffs next year and do better."

West St. Mary hopes to continue its winning ways against No. 6 Northwest, a 50-39 winner over Jennings.

"We're trying to get to the Cajundome" for the Top 28, said Morrison, who feels his team has a legitimate shot at accomplishing its goal. "We can if we keep working."

"After playing NISH, Peabody and Jeanerette, I think we have the athletes to match up with anybody," said Reed. "We have to maintain focus. There's no tomorrow if you lose. You either play tonight or that's it."