The Minden Crimson Tide built a big first-half lead then held off LaGrange
in the second en route to a 73-67 victory in the first round of the non-select Division II playoffs Friday night at Minden.
Minden (16-8), the No. 14 seed, will visit No. 3 Brusly (22-5) in the second round next week. The Panthers received a first-round bye. LaGrange, the No. 19 seed, closed its season 13-16.
Elsewhere, Doyline’s season came to an end with a 65-52 loss to No. 15 Oak Hill in a Class B first-round game at Hicks. The No. 18 seed Panthers finished 17-14.
Down the stretch in the regular season, Minden got off to slow starts in a few games. That wasn’t the case Friday night.
The Tide came out red hot in the first quarter, rolling to a 25-11 lead. Cameron Parker scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the quarter. Minden kept its foot on the gas in the second quarter and led 46-30 at the half.
But LaGrange began chipping away at the lead in the third. By the time the fourth quarter started, Minden’s lead was just 56-53.
The Tide led 64-58 with just more than three minutes left in the game. The Gators hit a 3-pointer to get within 67-66 with about 1:10 to play.
Kameron Harris drove the baseline for a two-handed dunk to put Minden back on top by three. LaGrange hit a free throw to get within two with 38 seconds left. Cameron Parker made a layup with an assist by Markavius Johnson. He was fouled and made the free throw, giving Minden a 72-67 lead with 29.8 seconds remaining. After the Gators missed a 3-pointer, Johnson made a free throw for the final margin.
Four Minden players scored in the fourth. Parker hit a 3-pointer and had five points. Harris had four. Johnson and Abreon Curry had three each.
Johnson finished with 14 points. Hudson Brown scored six of his eight in the first half.