By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports

LAKE CHARLES –Peabody’s defense didn’t force many turnovers Thursday afternoon.

But the Warhorses got a key one at the absolute right moment.  

With 45 seconds remaining in a tie game, senior Jordan Matthews deflected an inbounds pass intended for Carver center Daijon Leatherman. Senior Zaydrien Sewell grabbed the loose ball and passed up the floor to junior Isaiah Jones, who finished an and-1 layup to give the Warhorses a two-point lead with 38 seconds left in the Division II Select semifinal at Burton Coliseum. 

Carver, looking for its third straight state championship, got a good look to tie the game in the waning seconds, but Chesney Sadler’s running jumper rimmed out. Robert Garland knocked down two free throws to seal the Warhorses’ 52-48 victory and earn a berth in Saturday’s title game against top-seeded Madison Prep. 

Carver knocked Peabody out of the playoffs in the semifinals last season, so the Warhorses earned a measure of redemption on Thursday.

“It’s always good to face an opponent that had beaten you because you have gone back and looked at film and made preparations, and you know their strengths and weaknesses,” Peabody coach Charles Smith said. “But again I say it was still a tough battle. We prepared and prepared, but it still comes down to the players.”

“We don’t have anything to hang our heads about,” Carver first-year coach Devin Andrew said. “It was a good season. It hurts to get this close and not go all the way, but again, we don’t have anything to hang our heads about today.”

Junior point guard Rashad Mitchell led the Warhorses (27-5) with 18 points, while senior forward Jordan Mitchell added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds while defending the 6-foot-8 Leatherman. 

“I knew it was gonna be tough going down the stretch, but I thought Rashad stepped up and took over at the point guard and then also Jordan Matthews, he stepped up and became a big-time player,” said Smith, the country’s fifth-winningest high school boys coach of all-time, and a finalist for enshrinement in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame – who, as usual, drove the team bus to Lake Charles Thursday morning.

Leatherman led the Rams with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, while Sadler and Laurence Nathan added 10 points each. 

Despite trailing for much of the first quarter, the Warhorses appeared to take control of the contest with a 9-0 run to start the second. 

Mitchell knocked down a 3-pointer and was fouled for a four-point play just seven seconds into the quarter, Jones added a 3-pointer and Mitchell made an acrobatic driving layup to give the Warhorses a 20-10 lead just 90 seconds into the quarter. 

Carver (22-7) refused to roll over, though, answering the Peabody run by clamping down on the defensive end and outscoring the Warhorses 15-5 the rest of the quarter to tie the game at 25 at halftime.

“When we fell down by 10, they could have rolled over,” Andrew said, “but they fought all the way to the end.”

Leatherman, who established his dominance early, nearly had a double-double in the first half as he scored 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots. 

Mitchell, meanwhile, was the Warhorses’ catalyst in the first half, making four of five shots, including two 3-pointers, to finish with 11 points at the break. 

Carver and Peabody traded blows in an exciting third quarter as Matthews scored eight points in the post against Leatherman. A deep three by Nathan gave the Rams a 31-30 lead with six minutes left in the third, and Peabody retook the lead following a Matthews bucket and three Mitchell free throws that put the Warhorses ahead 36-34.

Carver scored six of the final eight points of the quarter, though, and a jumper by freshman Wayne Nevels gave the Rams a 40-38 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Matthews scored the Warhorses’ first five points of the fourth quarter, and the score was tied at 42 when Nathan fouled out with just over four minutes remaining.

Mitchell made a tough basket at the rim, and after two Leatherman free throws, Sewell buried his second 3-pointer of the game for a 47-44 lead with 3:30 left to play. 

Carver scored four points over the next minute to retake the lead, setting up the stage for the frantic finish.