CCHS tops CCA, advances to Division IV quarters

Eighth-seeded Covenant Christian and No. 9 Central Catholic battled as closely as their rankings Tuesday night in Louisiana High School Athletic Association Division IV regional round boys basketball
playoffs at Vandebilt Catholic High School.
However, Eagles forward Elijah Swan made a three pointer with 3:30 remaining to give Central Catholic the lead for good, and it held on for a 47-40 victory.
Central Catholic will face No. 1 Lafayette Christian in the quarterfinals later this week.
“I’ll never stop being proud of them. They played their hearts out. They played hard all night long,” Covenant Christian head coach Troy Jackson said. “We just had untimely turnovers and some shots
that didn’t fall at the end. We had a big three that was called back for traveling. That’s the way it is sometimes.”
“I knew it was going to come down to a couple of stops and a couple of free throws,” Central Catholic coach Ree Case said. “We’ve lost that game 10 times this year, so to get it in a playoff game is huge. We played some 3-2 zone. We got good stops in man-to-man. We haven’t made free throws all season, and we made six in a row to end the game.”
Anthony Ruffin and Dakari Johnson led Covenant Christian with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Brooks Thomas headed Central Catholic with 15 points, followed by Swan with 14 and DJ Lewis with 10.
Tied at 34 with 6:10 left in the fourth quarter on a Thomas three pointer, Covenant Christian (20-11) got four straight points from Ruffin on free throws and a floater in the lane to go up 38-34.
Central Catholic (16-14) answered with seven consecutive points, including a short jumper from Swan and his go-ahead three, for a 41-38 lead with 1:06 remaining.
Johnson sank a floater with 57 seconds left to get the Lions within a point.
The Eagles broke Covenant Christian’s backcourt press, and Lewis tipped in an offensive rebound. Swan and Thomas each made two free throws to seal the win.
“I didn’t think we shot the ball well against the zone, but we made two big threes in the fourth quarter," Case noted. “We turned the ball (over) against the press, but guys stepped up to make plays. We made shots when we needed to hit them.”
Covenant Christian sprinted to an early 7-2 lead on a Devante Johnson layup and a Tre’veon Sauceberry corner three pointer.
Central Catholic quickly got five straight points from Thomas on a put back and a three from the wing to tie the game.
The Lions went an 11-6 burst, including corner three pointers from Justin Jackson and Ruffin, while Johnson was fouled on a left-handed layup, to take a 18-13 lead early in the second quarter.
The Eagles responded with eight unanswered points. Thomas made four straight free throws. Then, after Central Catholic blocked consecutive Lions layup attempts, Swan got two uncontested layups for a 21-18 lead.
The Lions replied with Ruffin nailing a short jumper and Dakari Johnson drive to the basket on a layup for a 24-23 halftime advantage.
“We’re very similar teams,” Case said. “We played well defensively. Our game plan was to slow (Dakari) down, make somebody else beat us. He’s been averaging about 30, and I know we held him well
below that.”
After Ruffin opened the third quarter with a long jumper, the Eagles scored six straight on a Swan put back and two Lewis layups.
The Lions earned the final five points of the quarter on a Johnson floater and a Jackson corner three to lead 31-29 entering the fourth quarter.
As for Central Catholic’s next opponent, the Eagles will face the state’s top seed in Lafayette Christian, who also is a District 7-1A opponent of Central Catholic.
“They’re really good,” Case said. “I’m excited about playing them. We played them tough the first time. We know how to beat them. Whether we can is a whole different story.”
The Lions will lose four starters from this year’s squad: Devante J o h n s o n , D a k a r I Johnson, Sauceberry and Justin Jackson.
Still, this was a special season for Lions basketball.
“This season, I think a lot of people underestimated us, the talent we have and the fight we have,” Coach Jackson said. “We played some of the bigger schools and been in games. We beat some of them, went to overtime with some of them. We’re not a deep team, but I’ve five, six, seven guys that can run with you all night long."