Prep Basketball Roundup: Monterey upset in Class B regional round, Block falls in Class 1A regionals

Published 7:00 pm Thursday, March 5, 2020

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LOGANSPORT, La. — The only shot that Jacob Maxie made for Stanley High School in last Tuesday night’s LHSAA Class B Regional round game against Monterey High School was the one that mattered the most.

Maxie’s game-winning shot as time expired allowed the No. 23 seed Panthers to upset the No. 7 seed Wolves 43-41, ending Monterey’s season sooner than expected.

“It was a good game. Both teams played hard,” Wolves head coach Eric Richard said. “We controlled the first half. They made their run (in) the third quarter. It was a one-point game going into the fourth quarter.”

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Even though Monterey controlled the pace in the first half, getting shots to fall in the first quarter was another key factor in the outcome of this game. The Wolves scored just six points and trailed by five points at the end of the quarter.

The Wolves responded by outscoring the Panthers 16-4 in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 22-15 lead.

Led by Jeremy Rogers and Jacob Forte, Stanley (11-21) grabbed the momentum away from Monterey in the second half. The Panthers put up 16 points in the third quarter while holding the Wolves to just 10 points to make it a 32-31 game. Capped off by Maxie’s buzzer-beater, they outscored the Wolves 12-9 in the fourth quarter.

“It was a good game between two good teams. They made one more play than we did,” Richard said.

Turnovers and three-point shooting were two other factors in the game. Monterey turned the ball over 12 times and was just 3-for-11 from long distance. Ethan Clark made just one of his six shots from three-point range and was 4-for-11 from the field.

Trey Boyd led Monterey with 15 points while Clark had nine points and Conner Boyd scored six points.

Rogers finished with 15 points and Forte added 14 points to lead Stanley in scoring.

Monterey finished its 2019-2020 with an overall record of 26-6.

Grand Lake 98, Block 65 (Tues.)

LAKE CHARLES, La. — Grand Lake High School senior power forward Brayden Richard led all scorers with 30 points as the second-seeded Bulldogs rolled to a 98-65 win over the No. 18 seed Block High School Bears last Tuesday night in the Regional round of the 2020 LHSAA Class 1A playoffs.

“The difference was three-point shots. They made nine and we made one. Free throws, they made 19 and we made 19. Two-point shots, they made 26 and we made 22,” Block head coach Benny Vault Jr. said. “Other than the 3-point shot, I think everything was equal.”

Everything except experience, especially when it comes to the postseason. Grand Lake, a regular in the Top 28 in the Class 1A playoffs, made it known over the first three quarters that it is one of the favorites to win the Class 1A state championship.

The Bulldogs led Block 28-19 at the end of the first quarter and then outscored the Bears 28-11 in the second quarter for a commanding 56-30 halftime lead. Grand Lake didn’t let up coming out of the locker room as it scored 25 points in the third quarter while Block had 16 points for an 81-46 advantage.

“They can shoot it real well. They made 80 percent of their free throws,” Vault said. “They have six seniors on their team. They play well as a team. We made a few turnovers against their press defense.”

In addition to Richard’s performance, senior shooting guard/small forward Luke Thomas scored 15 points for Grand Lake (30-1).

Despite the loss, Block did have four players score in double figures. Dexture Jefferson led the Bears with 18 points. Zavion Green and Tavaughn Wyckoff each had 12 points. Gary Stevenson added 10 points.

Block wrapped up the 2019-2020 season with an overall record of 13-11.