Abbbeville Wildcats take over first in district

LEROY — The Abbeville Wildcats secured sole possession of first place in District 6-3A with a come-from-behind 51-47 win over North Vermilion Tuesday night.
After trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the Wildcats clawed back into the game and escaped with a win.
“We challenged our team,” said Abbeville coach Berwick Hamilton. “They were talking about becoming district champions, and we told them the district championship runs through North Vermilion, because they are the reigning district champs.”
The Patriots burst out of the gate with intense defense and a barrage of points to take a 18-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
North Vermilion’s double-digit lead was short-lived, as Abbeville tied the game at 24 near the end of the second quarter, the Patriots scored four straight to lead 28-24 going into halftime.
After the halftime break, the Patriots gained a second 11-point lead with a 37-26 advantage with four minutes left in the third. Abbeville closed the gap to 42-34 at the end of the third.
Back-to-back long-range bombs by Abbeville’s Isaiah Antoine cut North Vermilion’s lead to 45-42, and a bucket by Jourdan Brooks gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game at 46-45 with 4:08 left in the fourth quarter.
With 1:23 left and North Vermilion leading 47-46, Abbeville’s Dre’vian Evans stepped around Dade Dieterich, who was trying to take a charge and scored a bucket plus the foul. Evans hit the free throw to give his team a 49-47 lead.
North Vermilion failed to score on their possession, and Antoine went to the line and sank two free throws to put the game away.
“Coach kept telling me shoot the ball. I kept hesitating, but when I finally let it go, it just fell for me,” Antoine said of the two tide-turning 3-pointers.
Antoine led Abbeville in scoring with 15, followed by Brooks with 13 and Evans with 12. Clements Dorsey and Kevin Williams scored 4 each, and Nadaerian Mouton added 3.
Jordan Windmon and Mike Bessard scored in double figures for North Vermilion with 16 and 12 respectively.
Other NV scorers were: Dade Dieterich (7) Donald Comeaux (5), Terrance Lollis (4) and Blake Turner (3).
The Wildcats fell short of a district title last year, but with the win Tuesday, they move one step closer to achieving the goal, according to Hamilton.
“To beat North Vermilion in their own gym and to take the lead in district is big,” Hamilton admitted. “I think that means a whole lot.”