Sports

Area Lil’ Dribblers teams are racing through tune-up tournaments, with one being held at Jennings High this week. Boys and girls teams of all ages took to the courts • Monday night, including the Welsh and Hathaway boys 13 and 14 years old.

ELTON – The Elton Indians rallied from a halftime deficit over district rival Gueydan to claim a 57-48 win in the opening round of the Class A basketball playoffs Friday night. The Indians will now travel up to north Louisiana to square off with No. 4 Tensas tonight in the regional round. The Indians had swept the season series with the Bears throughout district play, however Gueydan proved how dangerous it can be to face a team for the third time in a season. The Bears held a 3-point lead going into the half, but a stingy Elton defense held Gueydan to only three points in the third quarter to gain control of the game and later claim the win.

The No. 3 Hathaway High School Hornets rolled over No. 30 Maurepas High School 99-29 Friday night at Charles F. Groth Gymnasium in the opening round of the Class B Playoffs. The Hornets advance to play district rival Bell City tonight on the road at 6:30 pm. The Bruins moved on after they upset No. 14 Weston by a final of 68-44. The winner of this contest will advance to play another district 7-B foe in either No. 6 JS Clark Academy or No. 11 Midland.

LAKE ARTHUR – The Lake Arthur Tigers overcame a rocky start to their Class 2A first round playoff game Friday night and rallied to defeat their district rival Port Barre, 52-42 to advance to the regional round. The Tigers will now do battle with No. 24 seed Amite tonight on the road. The Warriors pulled off the first round upset over No. 9 Vinton with a 69-53 win on the road. The Tigers rode the scoring of Daylon Charles and Torrell Levias, as the pair of seniors combined to score 39 of Lake Arthur’s 52 points.

The Jennings Bulldogs went on the road to battle No. 3-seeded Madison Prep in the first round of the Class 3A basketball playoffs Friday night. The Chargers were able to blow past the Bulldogs by a final of 102-50 to advance on to the Regional Round against Iowa tonight. Damarian Simon led the Bulldogs by popping in 16 points, while Jacorien Palfrey tacked on 11. Clarence Henry hit nine for the Dogs, while Bub Willridge added six. Trevor Etienne hit four for the Dogs, while Thymron Pattum and Damote Gant each added a free throw.

The Lacassine Cardinals nearly pulled off a first-round upset Friday night over the No. 8-seeded Elizabeth Bulldogs. However, the homestanding Bulldogs rallied for a 4-point win late in the fourth quarter, 56-52. After trailing the whole contest, Lacassine grabbed the lead with just over a minute left in the game. However, two mistakes led the Bulldogs to jump back ahead and claim the win to move on. Elizabeth will now host district rival Fairview in the second round on Tuesday night, while the Cardinals end their season at 14-25.

Jennings Daily News is excited to see three of our local boys’ teams entering the regional round of playoffs tonight. All are on the road, with Hathaway High facing Bell City, Elton High battling Tensas and Lake Arthur High challenging Amite. The newspaper staff prays for safe travels and injury-free games for everyone involved.

HATHAWAY – The Hathaway High School (HHS) girl’s basketball lineup played a feisty Holden High School squad this Thursday at the Charles F. Groth gymnasium. The Lady Hornets knocked out the Lady Rockets 66-37 in the third round of playoffs to advaance to the Top-28 state tournament where they square off with district rival Lacassine in the semi-finals..