Central Catholic's fourth-quarter surge falls a point short

The No. 6 Central Catholic Eagles’ upset bid of No. 3 Calvary Baptist came up just short in the Division IV playoffs Friday as the squad fell 57-56 in Shreveport.
Central Catholic used a big fourth quarter, outscoring Calvary Baptist 19-10 for the close ending.
Early on, Central Catholic trailed 20-6 after a quarter, and while it outscored Calvary Baptist 14-12 in the second period, the Eagles still trailed 32-20 at halftime. Central Catholic held a 17-15 scoring advantage in the third quarter to cut its deficit to 47-37 after three quarters.
Tyler Smith led Central Catholic with 25 points, while Vernon Singleton also reached double figures with 10 points. Other Central Catholic scorers were D.J. Lewis and Damondrick Blackburn with eight each and Gary Michael Nicar, five.
Everyone who scored for Calvary reached double figures. Will Bagley and LaBren Williams led the squad with 15 points apiece. Ben Ponder scored 14 and Daniel Ortiz had 13.
Central Catholic concludes its season with a 19-5 mark.
Calvary Baptist, which improved to 25-5, continued postseason play Monday when it met No. 2 Riverside Academy at the Cajundome in Lafayette. Riverside advanced after defeating No. 7 Opelousas Catholic 73-48 in other quarterfinal action.
Franklin wins
The Franklin Hornets advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals as the No. 5 seed Hornets topped No. 4 Doyle 64-57 on the road Friday.
Franklin’s postseason journey featured an 89-56 victory against No. 28 Varnado in the first round and a 74-54 win against No. 12 West St. Mary in round 2.
Franklin, which improves to 27-4, will face top seed Rayville Wednesday at noon at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles in semifinal action. Rayville advanced after defeating No. 9 Morris Jeff Community 130-56 in other quarterfinal action.
The Franklin-Rayville winner will meet the victor of the matchup between No. 2 Port Allen and No. 6 Lakeview in the state finals, which are set for Friday at 5 p.m. at Burton Coliseum.