By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

St. Charles knew it had a stiff challenge ahead of it if it intended on pushing its way into the playoffs. It would have to upset the No. 2 ranked team in Class 3A, Plaquemine – a hungry team that needed a win to clinch the outright District 9-3A title.

A strong defensive effort kept St. Charles afloat, especially in the first half. But the Green Devils turned up the heat and walked away with a 46-35 victory in LaPlace.

“Their pressure really hurt us,” said SCC coach Chris Perrone. “I had a feeling they’d press us to push the tempo and get some buckets for themselves. We prepared for it, but I guess it’s just very hard to replicate their speed.”

Plaquemine (28-4, 7-1) finished the season not only as outright district champion, but also atop the Class 3A power rankings.

At press time (early due to Mardi Gras), it appeared St. Charles (10-17, 3-5) would miss the playoffs by a hair. The Comets finished 33rd in power ranking. The top 32 teams make the state playoffs.

“We knew coming in that this was a tough place to play,” said Plaquemine coach Denny Wright. “Last year, they did a quality job against us. This year, they changed coaches, and they did another quality job.”

Defense was certainly played at a playoff-like intensity. Points came at a premium all night, especially in the first half. The first point of the game came almost two minutes in, and the first basket came at with 4:14 remaining. Plaquemine led 6-5 after the first quarter, and 17-14 at halftime.

But with 3:38 left in the first half, it was St. Charles that had the momentum. Birch Matus, Victor Gordon and DeMarcus Bernard combined to fuel a 7-0 second quarter run that gave SCC a 14-8 lead.

At that point, Wright instructed his team to push the pace of the contest.

“We sped the game up,” Wright said. “We pressed, trapped, and pushed it on offense. We started making some shots, and that always helps your tempo defensively.”

Indeed, the Comets had trouble taking care of the basketball, which not only eliminated scoring opportunities, but it allowed Plaquemine to run offensively. The Green Devils scored the last nine points of the half led by Deryl Lewis, who scored six of those.

It was more of the same to begin the third quarter. After SCC’s Birch Matus drew a foul to convert a three-point play, Plaquemine led 20-17. But Lewis and backcourt mate Maquel Robinson got hot to turn the tide back. A Lewis layup in transition made it 24-17. He added two foul shots push the lead to nine.

“Those loose balls we were getting to, those rebounds we were pulling down (in the first half), they weren’t happening in the third quarter,” said Perrone.

The Comets answered, first on a Zach Goodwin layup, then on a Gabe Corchiani 3-pointer that made it 28-22.

But it would be the team’s last gasp. Plaquemine pushed its lead to 10 on two Robinson layups to end the quarter. The Green Devils would lead by as many as 15, and the Comets would get no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Lewis finished with 17 to lead Plaquemine. Robinson and Cody Edmond scored 11 each.

Matus and DeMarcus Bernard each scored seven to lead SCC. Gordon added six.

Not helping matters for SCC was that Bernard and Corchiani – the team’s lone two senior starters – were each saddled with foul trouble by the second half. Just as importantly was the lack of efficiency at the foul line for SCC, which hit only 10-of-18 free throw opportunities.

But competing in a district that began last week with three other teams ranked in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s top five in Class 3A, SCC managed to finish third.

“I think we proved to a lot of people in this district that we can play,” said Perrone. “Will we make the playoffs? Maybe not, now. But we played three top 10 teams in our district, and competed with all of them. We just came up a little short.”