LAKE CHARLES – Plainview had to play without one of its best players Tuesday in the Class C boys basketball state semifinals, but you could hardly tell it.
The second-seeded Hornets (28-3) led from the start and halted third-ranked Gibsland-Coleman with a 64-55 victory at Burton Coliseum in the LHSAA’s Marsh Madness, advancing to the state championship game Friday at noon against No. 1 seeded Pleasant Hill.
The Hornets were without Nathan Fee, who hurt his ankle in last Friday’s quarterfinal win over Hornbeck. But they compensated with relentless effort and lots of ZeQuan Lewis, as usual.
Lewis scored 23 points and collected 20 rebounds, leading Plainview to its first state finals appearance since 1984. Kendan Maricle added 19, going 3 of 5 from behind the arc, where the Hornets made 7 of 21. Caleb Calhoun scored 11 and snagged 9 rebounds.
The Hornets led 13-6 after one quarter and by 25-19 at halftime. It was 46-37 going to the final period before Gibsland-Coleman closed within 58-55 with 1:33 to go, but free throw shooting combined with tough defense to fuel a game-ending 6-0 spurt for the winers.
Sixty years ago, Plainview brought home a state championship trophy, with a team that earned a distinctive nickname that coach Dustin Howard, a former Plainview player, wanted his team to earn.
“That ’65 team won the state championship, and there was an article written about them that was hung up in the old coach’s office for many years. It called them ‘the hustlin’ Hornets.’ When I got back (as head coach),” said Howard, “these guys were sixth- and seventh-graders, and we had been through some pretty lean times, and I thought, ‘let’s embody the hustlin’ Hornets.’”
PEABODY PLAYS TONIGHT: Defending Select Division II state champion Peabody takes on Archbishop Hannan at 6:15 today. The Warhorses are the third seed and Hannan is No. 1. Peabody is aiming for its 11th state crown.
In the other semifinal, No. 1 Archbishop Shaw plays fifth-seeded Madison Prep. The state championship game is Saturday at 6.