Three parish basketball teams advance in playoffs

The high-school boy’s basketball playoffs are under way, and all five Ascension Parish teams that made the field were in action on Wednesday and Friday nights.

After one round, three of those five schools are still alive.

The parish team with the highest seeding was Donaldsonville. The Tigers earned the fourth seed in Class 3A.

Donaldsonville had a tremendous regular season, finishing 27-4 and capturing the District 9-3A championship.

The Tigers head into the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak. They’ve won 16 of their last 17 games.

In round one, Donaldsonville blasted No. 29 Mamou at home, 94-53, to advance to the second round.

The Tigers will now host No. 13 Frederick A. Douglas, who is coming off of a 60-58 victory over Mansfield in the first round.

Donaldsonville is seeking its first state quarterfinal berth since 2014.

If the Tigers do reach the quarterfinals, they’ll host either fifth-seeded Iowa or No. 12 Lutcher.

The Ascension Catholic Bulldogs picked up a playoff victory on Wednesday night, which punched their ticket to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2019.

Ascension Catholic headed into the Division-IV playoffs as one of the hottest teams in Ascension Parish. The Bulldogs ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak.

They kept the momentum going on Wednesday night. 

Seventh-seeded Ascension Catholic hosted No. 10 River Oaks and pulled off the win by a score of 73-63.

The Bulldogs exploded offensively in the first half. They scored 45 in the first 16 minutes, and they held an eight-point advantage.

The offensive numbers took a big dip in the second half, but Ascension Catholic’s lead didn’t. The Bulldogs were able to hold on to collect the 10-point victory.

In the win, Demarco Harry score 21 points, and Calvin Delone was close behind with 19. Gavin Richardson netted 11, and Jamiris Breaux chipped in with nine.

The victory was the eighth straight for Ascension Catholic and improved its overall record to 17-11.

The District 7-1A champion Bulldogs will now head into the state quarterfinals for a road matchup against second-seeded Calvary Baptist (23-6), who is coming off of an 81-39 first-round victory over Cedar Creek.

In Class 5A, No. 14 East Ascension picked up a hard-fought victory over No. 19 Hahnville, 61-52, in round one. It was the seventh straight season in which the Spartans won a first-round playoff game.

East Ascension will now travel to face third-seeded Ruston in the second round, seeking its first quarterfinal berth since 2016.

Dutchtown was eliminated by Ruston in the opening round of the playoffs. The Griffins went 14-14 during the regular season and squeaked into the postseason as the No. 30 seed in Class 5A.

Another parish school that had its season end in the first round of the playoffs was St. Amant.

St. Amant made the postseason as the No. 24 seed. The Gators went 20-12 during the regular season.

They hit the road to face ninth-seeded Destrehan in round one. The Wildcats finished with a 25-5 record during the regular season.

In first-round action, Destrehan pulled out the victory by a score of 74-61.