A furious comeback by Riverside Academy led the Rebels to a 60-57 victory over Edna Karr to win their third championship at the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Basketball Classic. In addition to Riverside winning the boys’ title, Mount Carmel captured the girls’ championship (Platinum Bracket) with a 46-37 victory over defending Class 4A state champion Warren Easton. Jewell Sumner won the girl’s Gold Bracket with a54-40 victory over Covington.
In the boys’ title game, Karr had built a 49-42 advantage with 4:06 to play. However, Riverside came to life behind the efforts of Jared Butler, who earned tournament MVP honors. Butler scored 11 fourth-quarter three-pointers including three three-pointers as he finished the game with 20 points.
“Anytime you win the Sugar Bowl national tournament, it’s a big deal,” said Riverside coach Timmy Byrd, who earned his third title in six years at the event. “We had 10 of the top 25 teams in the state in the tournament. To run the gauntlet and go through the competition we had to go through just shows how good our team is. We’re really proud to have won this tournament.”
“It was just an honor to win this tournament with all of the best teams in the state,” Butler said. “My team is the MVP. I was fortunate to make some shots in the fourth quarter. We never gave up, fought hard.”
After erasing the deficit in the final minutes, Riverside’s Herb McGee sank a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds to go to push the advantage to 60-57. Tyree Thompson last-second halfcourt heave was off the mark for the Cougars.
Playing with nine stitches over his eye and a sprained ankle, Riverside’s Malik Crowfield finished with 10 points. Vincent Phillips led Karr with 21 points while Diamante Woolridge had 11.
The girls’ Platinum championship also featured a come-from-behind win as Mount Carmel trailed Easton, 30-18, late in the first half. However, the Cubs rallied, putting together a crippling 24-2 run over the next 14:45 of the game. Megan Donaldson led Mount Carmel with 12 points while freshman Ellie Holzman added 11 points and Lauren Bodino chipped in with 10. Kechelle Figueroa led Easton with 18 points.
“Our energy was flat in the start of the game but we challenged them to believe they can win,” said Mount Carmel Head Coach Jamie Thomatis. “We wanted to win so bad that we were afraid to make mistakes. My girls are tough because of our senior leadership, and they fed into it.”
Mount Carmel senior guard Kristin Nuss was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Joining her on the all-tournament team were teammates Donaldson and Paige Frankiewicz as well as Figueroa and Keira Williams from Easton and Cara Ursin (Destrehan), Kelsey Pinera (Cabrini), Rakell Spencer (Cabrini), Kierra Brimzy (Natchitoches Central) and Eladriana Payton (Natchitcohes Central).
In the boys’ bracket, Butler was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates McGee and Crowfield as well as Phillips and Thompson from Karr and Mitchell Robinson (Chalmette), Kalob Ledoux (Lafayette Christian), Wayde Sims (University), Lamar Peters (Landry-Walker) and Javonte Smart (Scotlandville).
In the boys’ third-place game, sophomore Javonte Smart scored 18 points, including a free throw with 1:33 to go, to lift Scotlandville to victory in a 49-46 thriller against Landry-Walker.
In the Girls’ Gold Bracket title game, undefeated Jewell Sumner improved to 20-0 on the season with a wire-to-wire 54-40 victory over Covington. Bre’Ashlee Jones led the Cowgirls with 26 points, even rebounds and four assist as she was named the tournament MVP for her bracket. Diamond Brooks added 18 points and 19 rebounds for Sumner. Tashia McDowell led the Lions with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Boys’ Bracket
Championship: Riverside def. Karr, 60-57 (Riverside: Jared Butler 20 pts; Karr: Vincent Phillips 21 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Third-Place: Scotlandville def. Landry-Walker, 49-46 (Scotlandville: Javonte Smart 18 pts; LW: Lamont Berzat 13 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Semifinal: Karr def. Scotlandville, 54-53 (Karr: Vincent Phillips 16 pts; Scotlandville: Jordan Adebutu 17 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Semifinal: Riverside def. Landry-Walker, 54-46 (Riverside: Malik Crowfield 18 pts; LW: Vincent Peters: 16 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Quarterfinal: Landry-Walker def. University Lab, 67-61 (LW: Lamar Peters 32 pts; University: Wayde Sims 26 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Quarterfinal: Riverside def. Lafayette Christian, 65-60 (Riverside: Jared Butler 29 pts; LC: Kalob & Jacob LeDoux 15 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Quarterfinal: Karr def. Tift County (Ga.), 55-36 (Karr: Devin Edinburgh 10 pts)
Quarterfinal: Scotlandville def. Salmen, 57-33 (Scotlandville: JaVonte Smart 23 pts)
Consolation: Westbury (Texas) def. Lafayette Christian, 64-59 (Westbury: Grant Hazle 12 pts; LC: Kalob LeDoux 25 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Opener: Scotlandville def. Richwood, 52-28 (Scotlandville: Javonte Smart 23 pts)
Opener: Riverside def. West Jefferson, 58-49 (Riverside: Malik Crowfield 21 pts)
Opener: University Lab def. Country Day, 67-46 (University: Jalen Johnson 25 pts)
Opener: Landry-Walker def. Westbury (Texas), 60-57 (LW: Lamont Berzat 20 pts; Westbury: Marlin Davis 20 pts)
Opener: Karr def. Chalmette, 68-43 (Karr: Vincent Phillips 22 pts)
Girls’ Platinum Bracket
Championship: Mount Carmel def. Warren Easton, 46-37 (MCA: Megan Donaldson 12 pts; Easton: Kechelle Figueroa 18 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Semifinal: Mount Carmel def. Cabrini, 50-34 (MCA: Megan Donaldson 13 pts)
Semifinal: Warren Easton def. Natchitcohes Central, 50-47 (Easton: Kechelle Figueroa 27 pts)
Opener: Edna Karr def. University Lab, 69-67 (Karr: Imani Mulmore 30 pts; University: Destiny Ephrom 26 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Opener: Easton def. St. Michael, 59-53 (Easton: Kechelle Figueroa 15 pts; St. Michael: Sabree Wilson 14 pts) | SportsNola.com story
Opener: Cabrini def. Richwood, 47-45 (Cabrini: Rakell Spencer 22 pts)
Girls’ Gold Bracket
Championship: Jewell Sumner def. Covington, 54-40 (JS: Bre’Ashlee Jones 26 pts; Covington: Tashia McDowell 16 pts) | SportsNola.com story
