By LAMAR GAFFORD, Journal Sports
LAKE CHARLES – Last season, Natchitoches Central was one-and-done after the first day of the state boys basketball playoffs.
This season, the Chiefs are still alive on the final day.
The fifth-seeded Chiefs defeated Ruston, 60-56, Thursday night in the Division I Non-Select semifinals at Burton Coliseum. They will meet No. 2 Ponchatoula, the defending title holder, in the finals Saturday at 8 for the state championship.
“Unbelievable fight by my guys,” NCHS coach Kolton Sepulvado said. “That’s a big thing that we hammer all year long. We have an unbelievable group of guys that work their butts every single day. That’s our staple year in and year out. Getting guys that believe in the work that it takes in order to get here.”
The Chiefs were hot, shooting 51.1% from the floor and going 8-for-13 from 3-point range. Leading the charge was senior Logan Smith, who scored a game-high 28 points on 10 of 18 shooting including five 3-pointers on nine long shots.
Trailing 32-28 at the half, NCHS (29-7) opened the third quarter on an 8-2 run and played from ahead from that point forward, making 60% of its shots in the second half and outrebounding the Bearcats, 19-11 in the final two quarters.
“Once I hit one shot, I know the rest are going to fall,” Smith said. “Warming up before the game, I knew I was going to come in here and make shots.”
Ruston (22-10) had an efficient night from Zhy Scott as he scored 17 points on 7 of 10 aim, but the Chief defense made it tough for Ruston, which shot 37.0% as a team – 24% in the second half.
Junior guard Aidan Anding (16 points) and freshman forward Ahmad Hudson (12 points) also reached double-digits but shot a combined 9-for-24 because of the NCHS press defense.
“Ja’Dell Demery and Toby Adeleye battled and I’m proud of those guys,” Sepulvado said. “They fight and they compete. The big thing is with a big down there, your guards have to do well with ball pressure. You have to make have a perfect pass to get to that big, because we can go snatch it where nobody else can.”
Now, the Chiefs turn their attention to a Green Wave team that is looking to win back-to-back titles.
Last season, NCHS battled hard in the first half as the No. 24 seed before losing to Salmen 77-63 in the first round to end an uncharacteristic 11-18 season for a program that has great playoff history this century – two state titles in 2014 and 2016, two more state finals appearances, and seven Top 28
trips in the last 12 years.
But it’s last season that is the motivator for this year’s state finalists.
“I want people to forget about this, but I don’t want them to forget about it,” Sepulvado said. “Being 11-18 at a program that for the last 15 years (has been great) is rare, but we were young and every single of these guys were a part of that. We decided in March that’s not what we are. We’re Natchitoches Central basketball. We have to roll up our sleeves and get back to work.”
Non-Select Division I semifinal box score
Natchitoches Central 60, Ruston 56
Ruston 16 16 11 13 – 56
NCHS 19 9 18 14 -60
Ruston (22-10) – Zhy’avion Scott 7-10 2-2 17, Aidan Anding 4-12 6-7 16,
Ahmad Hudson 5-12 2-2 12, Joran Parker 2-8 0-0 6, Lontavious Dimmer 2-9 0-0
5, Zheric Hill 0-3 0-0 0. TOTALS 20-54 10-11 56.
Natchitoches Central (29-7) – Logan Smith 10-18 3-4 28, Jaden Braden 6-10
1-3 14, Jacorien Beard 3-3 0-0 8, Joseph Davis 3-9 1-2 7, Jadell Demery 1-4
0- 2, Russell Remo 0-0 1-2 1, Tobi Adeleye 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS 23-45 6-11 60.
3-point goals: Ruston 6-23 (Anding 2-9, Parker 2-5, Dimmer 1-6, Scott 1-1,
Hill 0-2). NCHS 8-13 (Smith 5-9, Beard 2-2, Braden 1-1, Demery 0-1).
Rebounds: Ruston 27 (Hudson 11). NCHS 33 (Beard 10). Assists: Ruston 12
(Anding 4). NCHS 9 (Davis 4).
