ASH has had 3 players from the 2007-08 team advance to the next level playing collegiate hoops. Dontae Cannon was recruited to McNeese. Ahkeem "Doc" Welch is playing at Louisiana College, and now Corey Blake will be at University of New Orleans.

Written by Bret H. McCormick

Corey Blake hasn't had a typical trek to the Division I basketball ranks, but he's almost there.

The 6-foot-5 guard started his prep basketball career at Rapides High School, but like many young players, he found himself in trouble inside and outside of the classroom. He transferred to Alexandria Senior High School, sat out a year under transfer guidelines and got himself academically eligible, and made an immediate impact on a Trojans team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2008.

Despite playing just half a season, Blake earned a spot on the District 3-4A second team after teaming with eventual McNeese State signee Dontae Cannon to form an inside-out duo for the Trojans.

But just as his basketball career was getting back on track, it derailed once again. Blake's high school eligiblity ended because of his age before he graduated from ASH, and he dropped out of high school.

Without a high school diploma and with his basketball dreams seemingly over, Blake did what every other person in his spot would have done -- he went to work. He got a job and worked for two years before deciding to pursue a GED and take another shot at basketball.

The moment that changed his perspective was when he found out his girlfriend was pregnant with his now 1-year-old son.

"I needed to help my family," Blake said. "I knew if I could make it past the college level, I could."

Blake placed a call to his old coach at ASH, Alex Perkins, who said he would help him land a spot at Southern University of Shreveport, a two-year junior college.

Perkins had told Blake that if he got his GED, the coach would make sure he had a chance to play somewhere. "It took him a little while," Perkins said, "but he got it done."

And even though Perkins had left ASH and was coaching at Woodlawn in Shreveport, he was ready and willing when his old player came calling.

"I told him, 'I know the perfect place for you -- right here in Shreveport with me,'" Perkins said.

Perkins set up a tryout with the coach at Southern-Shreveport, who despite having a full roster, decided to give Blake a shot. Perkins met Blake's family in Natchitoches and drove him the rest of the way to the tryout. Once he had a chance to get on the court, Blake showed he belonged.

Congratulations to 4 ASH Hoops Trojans who made the 2011-12 District 3-4A All-district basketball team.

First team: Christavious (Tay Tay) Gill

Second team: Dylan Brewer

Honorable Mention: Eddie Travis, Carlos Carroll

District 3-4A

First Team

Dee Wagner, Peabody, Sr.

Christaviosu Gill, ASH, Jr.

Troy Jones, Peabody, Sr.

Terrance Cobb, Tioga, So.

Josh Ivory, Peabody, Sr.

MVP: Dee Wagner, Peabody, Sr.

Coach of the Year: Charles Smith, Peabody

Second Team

Dylan Brewer, ASH, Sr.

Darren McQueen, Leesville, So.

Kyle Thorne, Tioga, Sr.

Duan Wright, Peabody, Sr.

Jakarius Johnson, Bolton, So.

Honorable Mention

Joseph McQuarn, Tioga; Martin Ramirez, Tioga; Wilburt Thomas, Peabody; Henry Pryor, Peabody; Roddrick Kelly, Leesville; Vidall Corbin, Leesville; Trey Piper, Grant; Donovan Thomas, Bolton; Logan Barton, Bolton; Eddie Travis, ASH; Carlos Carroll, ASH.

Congratulations to Christavious Gill for making the All-Cenla team.

Excerpt from Town Talk article:

Christavious Gill, G, ASH, Jr.: Despite losing starting post player Shaan Washington to an offseason injury the 5-foot-6 guard averaged 20.7 points, 4 assists and 3 steals per game for Trojans.

What his coach says

"The entire team had to step up to make us what we were this season," said ASH coach Alan Tinsley. "That said, it still fell on his (Christavious) shoulders to lead this team."

On playing without Shaan Washington

"It was hard because he (Washington) was not there," said Gill, who is being recruited by La. Tech, ULM and SE Louisiana. "The good thing was that it made become more of a leader and really step up for my team."

Coach Alan Tinsley is proud of his team and their success this season. "I think overachievers is an understatement for this group of seniors and this team. With one of the toughest schedules in 4A in the state they not only competed but won!! 21 victories...2nd in district...ranked as high as 6...2nd round playoffs!! Nothing but praise for this squad!!!!! Hard work, pride, discipline, proved them all out this season!!!"

Congratulations to all of the seniors and we know they will have much success in the future.

ASH - 34   St. Thomas More - 43

Dylan Brewer - 11 pts.

Eddie Travis - 10

Christavious Gill - 6

Carlos Carroll - 3

Delton - 3

Cortavious Williams - 2

LAFAYETTE -- Alexandria Senior High coach Alan Tinsley had a plan.

And midway through the fourth period of Friday's Class 4A state regional road game against the No. 6-seeded St. Thomas More Cougars, he was very pleased with how his No. 11-seeded Trojans were carrying it out.

Then in the matter of a few minutes, the strategy came crashing down.

Trailing 31-29 with 3:10 to play, Christavious Gill stole the ball in the backcourt and attacked the basket. When contact was made near the basket, the officials ruled it was a clean block and out of bounds on Gill for STM's possession.

St. Tjomas More would score the game's next eight points and post a 43-34 over Alexandria to advance to the quarterfinals.

"For three and a half quarters, it worked perfectly," Tinsley said. "That play turned the tide in the entire game. After that, the floodgates opened. The kids did a great job of maintaining their composure in an adverse situation for most of the game, but I think they got disheartened with the calls."

Tinsley pointed at the free throw line as a big factor in the game. STM made all 19 of its foul shots, while Alexandria made half of its four attempts.

"I'm never going to say that officials decided a game, but when one team goes 19 of 19 at the line and the other team only shoots a total of four free throws, that's exactly what's going to happen," Tinsley said. "And some of them were very obvious fouls.

"In no way do I want to blame the officials, but the facts are the facts."

Tinsley's strategy was basically a two-step process.

The first part was eating up the clock. Sometimes that would be standing around for a minute and sometimes that process would take three or four minutes off the clock. The second part of the gameplan was to then get a good shot.

If his Trojans did that enough times, Tinsley felt like they could pull off the upset.

Of course, St. Thomas More coach Danny Broussard had his own ideas. One of those was to put Michael Hicks covering Gill like a blanket for much of the night. In the end, it limited Gill to six points on 2-of-5 shooting.

But Gill did nail a 3-pointer with 5:56 of the second period for a 15-11 ASH lead. The Cougars, though, would rule the rest of the second period to grab a 23-17 lead into the lockerrooms.

Eddie Travis then got ASH going early in the second half with two 3-pointers ahead of a Dylan Brewer circus layup to narrow the gap to 27-25 with 5:32 left in the third.

"Shaw did the same kind of stuff (defensively) against us in the last round and he (Travis) was 1-of-9 on his 3s in that game," Tinsley said. "So I got all up into him ."

The two teams would got back and forth for almost two minutes and then the Trojans really began to hold it.

ASH held it for almost three minutes shortly after a Cortavious Williams basket cut STM's lead to 31-29 with 3:56 left in the third.

It stayed 31-29 as Dijae Cannon held the ball to begin the fourth period until the 4:03 mark when action began again. About a minute later, Gill's collision at the basket that could have tied it didn't go ASH's way and the Cougars hit three layups down the stretch to ice the victory.

Brewer led ASH with 11 points, followed by Travis with 10. The Cougars were led by Trey Touchet with 12 points.

"I didn't question his strategy at all," Broussard said. "We thought about coming to get them, but I kept telling our guys that we still had the lead. If we had pressured them and then they hit a 3, then we'd be behind. So we just decided to ride it out and it worked out for us.

"This was a very good win for us. That team has three really good players and a good, well-coached team."

The ASH Hoops had a tough foe in Marrerro based Archbishop Shaw tonight at the Trojan Gym.

Staying close the entire night ASH did not pull away until just over a minute left to play. On an inbound pass junior guard Christavious Gill leaped to tip a pass to his teammate Dylan Brewer who took the ball to the hole and getting fouled in the process. Brewer sank two clutch free throws. In a series of plays Tay Tay Gill made a couple of miraculous driving layups around traffic to close in on Shaw. The steal swung the momentum the Trojans way with Dylan Brewer and Big Tay Williams coming through in the end. Brewer beat everyone down the floor to score a layup that followed his clutch 3-pointer. Big Tay Cortavious Williams got some clutch defensive rebounds and was immediately fouled. He sank 4 consecutive free throws under pressure to seal the win and send the #11 Trojans to the next round.

Christavious Gill led with 18 points. Dylan Brewer had 14 while Deshaun Obey scored 12 and Cortavious Williams had 10 points.

ASH will travel on Friday to face #6 St. Thomas More of Lafayette in the regional round.

ASH - 67   Shaw - 62

Tay tay Gill - 18 pts
Dylan Brewer -  14
Deshaun Obey -12
Big tay Cortavious Williams - 10
Eddie Travis - 5
Joey Lacour - 4
JD   - 3
Carlos Carroll -  1

Written by Bob Tompkins

The measure of "Tay Tay" and what he could become for Alexandria Senior High's boys basketball team in his junior season without his "Mr. Inside" sidekick unfurled in marquee fashion in the Trojans' first district game.

"We were playing Tioga," recalled ASH coach Alan Tinsley, "and not only were we at home, but we were going against a team we fully expected to battle with for second place in the district."

Christavious "Tay Tay" Gill had eight points at halftime and ASH was leading by one point.

A second-team all-state guard as a sophomore last season, Gill can launch a 3-pointer from Woodworth, and he drives the lane in traffic with twists and leans and deceiving speed -- and he has yet to get a ticket.

He is listed as being 5-foot-6, which is not likely his true measurement. In feet and inches anyway.

When Shaan Washington, a 6-foot-4 junior center who was an all-state defensive back last fall and an honorable mention center for the basketball Trojans last year, had a cast put on his wrist a week before the jamboree, ASH's shooting guard suddenly had more responsibility planted on his modest shoulders.

Gill's response to losing his vaunted teammate for the season was not unexpected. He summoned help.

"When we found out he wouldn't play, I told everybody they needed to step up," said Gill. "We weren't going to keep being sad about it, but just keep playing harder."

Tinsley said the loss of Washington was unexpected, even though his team had worked during the summer without Washington, who was then dealing with another football injury to his ankle.

"You go into the season after a season like we had last year," Tinsley said of the Trojans' 27-4 campaign in 2010-11, "and you've got an inside-outside scoring combination like we expected to have with Tay Tay and Shaan, then lose one unexpectedly, the first thing that came to mind was how much the other guys would have to step up to allow Tay Tay to play as he's capable of playing.

"We knew he was

going to be double- or even triple-teamed, and face triangle-and-1 and box-and-one defenses, and he has," Tinsley went on.

Gill completed the regular season with statistics similar to what he had last season. Going into Tuesday's 6 p.m. first-round playoff game at home against 16-10 Archbishop Shaw of Marrero, Gill boasts a 20.7 scoring average with just over four assists and three steals per game.

To produce roughly the same number of points, assists and steals as he did last year, but under much more intense defensive pressure, speaks volumes of his talents. It also helps explain how a team that began the season 6-6 finished 20-8, with its only two losses since being to the top-ranked team in the Class 4A power ratings -- District 3-4A powerhouse Peabody.

"I think I played as hard as I've ever played before," said Gill. "I take every game as if it's a last game. I try to make the team play 10 times harder than what they had been used to."

Gill said Joey Lacour "picked up most of the slack" at the center position and said he accepts that he must "work harder" to get balls and shots while being guarded by two or more defenders.

"It's remarkable," said Tinsley, "the overachievement of this basketball team as a whole."

Tinsley likes to recall that first district game against Tioga when he "unloaded" on Gill "pretty heavy" at halftime while at the same time "trying not to put too much pressure on him."

The gist of his message, he said, was, "If you don't go out there and do what you're capable of in the second half, we'll not only lose the game but we're going to end the season as disappointed as we could possibly be."

No pressure. The fate of the season was put on a guy for how he performed in one half of the first district game.

Gill responded by scoring 31 second-half points, including 7 of 8 goals from three-point range.

"That just shows his strong drive to play this game at the highest level," said Tinsley. "He makes up for his small stature with how big and strong his heart is."

That's a measurement that cannot be quantified but can easily be understood, especially when one strong heart empowers others.

The LHSAA has released the OFFICIAL final power-ranking today 2/17/2012.

ASH Hoops is power-ranked #11 and will have a first round play-off game at home against New Orleans Westbank Archbishop Shaw, an all boys Catholic school with a record of 16-10. Shaw was the 3rd place district finisher in Disctrict 9-4A with McDonogh #35 (1st) and OP Walker (2nd). Helen Cox and Edna Karr is also in this tough district. Three of Shaw's 10 losses came from McDonogh (2) and OP Walker (1). Shaw defeated OP Walker once who is power ranked #14. McDonogh #35 is power-ranked #10.

A win for ASH would advance them to the regional round against the winner of #6 St. Thomas More and #27 East Jefferson. A St. Thomas More opponent would require the Trojans to travel in the regional round to the Lafayette Catholic school. A win in the regional would give a likely home play-off game for the quarter-finals against a bracket winner consisting of Northside v. LaGrange and OP Walker v. Tioga.

The first round game is scheduled for Tuesday, February 21 at 6:00 PM at the Trojan Gymnasium. 

 Written by Bob Tompkins

The Alexandria Senior High Trojans made it close for a while, but Dee Wagner and Troy Jones and company were unstoppable at crucial times Monday night in leading Peabody to a 70-51 victory over ASH in a District 3-4A boys basketball game at Peabody.

The victory extended second-ranked Peabody's record to 30-1 overall as the Warhorses completed the district season unbeaten at 10-0. ASH slipped to 20-8 and 8-2.

Wagner, the cagey senior guard, scored 23 points and Jones, the 6-foot-7 senior forward, added 14 to lead Peabody.

Junior guard Christavious "Tay Tay" Gill scored 20 and senior Eddie Travis added 19 to pace ASH.

ASH went on a 15-5 run to start the second quarter, pulling within 28-26 of the Warhorses. Gill completed a 4-point play with a free throw after a 3-pointer, and Travis squirmed to the basket in traffic for a three-point play after converting a free throw to cap the run.

By that time in the contest, with 4:53 remaining in the first half, Travis had 14 points for ASH.

Peabody led, 37-28 at halftime, and ASH went to a slow-down game early in the second half, holding the ball until missing its first shot at the 6:30 mark of the third period. Nonetheless, the Trojans went on a 9-5 run to pull within 42-37 before Wagner answered with consecutive goals -- the latter a 3-pointer -- to stretch Peabody's lead to 10 at 47-37.

Wagner answered in the same way Jones did after ASH's second quarter run, nailing consecutive dunk shots to stretch the lead to seven.

Josh Ivory got 10 points for the Warhorses, including two 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Jones got the game's final goal seconds before the buzzer, and the player who shattered the backboard in the first game between the two teams at ASH, closed with a dunk.

Before the game, which was the last regular season contest for both teams, Peabody coach Charles Smith presented his seniors with their framed jerseys.

Third Year Head Coach Alan Tinsley has been extremely pleased the way this season has turned out. You see at the beginning of the season when preparation was underway for the first game, Coach Tinsley knew that as soon as the play-off bound ASH Trojan football team was finished, he would get back his star power forward Shaan Washington to firm up his post play and stabilize his rebounding ability. But some news he didn’t expect came the day after the football team lost in the third round of the playoffs. Washington had a torn tendon in his hand which required surgery and he would be out for the season.

“Without Shaan nobody gave these guys much of a chance to succeed”, stated Coach Tinsley on Friday night following the Bolton Bear victory. “This was a REAL special senior night with the 20^th win for the ASH Hoops.”

In 2006, longtime Coach Warren “Bubba” Sears had made a change moving from his long tenure at ASH to coach the Buckeye Panthers. ASH brought in Coach Alex Perkins who had been coaching for 3 years in Bastrop and taken a team that hadn’t been to the Top 28 and placed them in the tournament in a short period of time. Coach Perkins arrived at ASH with the same goals, to elevate an underperforming basketball program to compete with some of the best teams in the state and to contend for a state championship. Each year that Coach Perkins was there, the team got better. In his final year, the ASH Trojans Hoops team was seeded #4 in the state and sported a 29-8 record, winning the Opelousas and Teurlings tournaments and placing third in the Ouachita Don Redden Classic. The 2009 Trojans came up 3 points short of going to the TOP 28 in the quarter finals against a foe they had previously beaten earlier in the year, New Orleans OP Walker.

Coach Perkins left after the 2009 season and the once promising hoops program that had already gained recognition throughout the state was without a coach. But it was quickly made known that Coach Alan Tinsley who had built a reputation at rival Tioga for being a fast-paced super-charged coach and who demanded nothing less than 100% from his players, was available as a possible hire. Coach Tinsley had actually played college level basketball, coached under the tutelage of long-time Louisiana College Coach Gene Rushing, and also coached a couple of area high schools including Avoyelles experiencing success everywhere he went. Perhaps Coach Tinsley could come in and keep this program on the winning path.

But in his first year at the helm, he had lost 4 of the 5 starters from the #4 ranked quarterfinalist team. All he had remaining was Hakeem “Doc” Welch on which to build. The rest were freshmen and sophomores. In 2009-10 in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, all he did was get 20 wins in his first season and secured a #18 power-ranking. ASH fell in the first round to Neville but was the better team that just didn’t play up to their ability. Perhaps it was the youth and inexperience that caused this quick exit. But the year was deemed a success and kept the program on the right path.

In his second season after losing Doc Welch to graduation, there were these two rising stars (Christaveous "Tay Tay" Gill and Shaan Washington) that started as freshmen but are now sophomores that perhaps more could be expected. Along with the support from some other key players such as junior Dylan Brewer, Deshaun Obey and Eddie Travis, Coach Tinsley in only his 2^nd year set an ASH Basketball program record with a 27-4 record, the best winning percentage (87.100%) in the history of Alexandria Senior High. The team ended the season as district runner-up sporting a #7 power-ranking and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.

This season he made the adjustments necessary with the loss of Washington and the team gelled together to get yet another 20-win season and will end the year with single-digits losses.

ASH has one game left to be played (Peabody on Tuesday night) before being seeded for their first round home playoff game. ASH will likely get a #9-#11 seed giving them a good shot of advancing in the playoffs.

 COACH ALEX PERKINS:

SEASON               RECORD         POWER RANKING       RESULTS   

2006-07                19-11                     N/A                        1^st rd. 3rd District

2007-08                27-11                     #12                         2^nd rd 2nd District (first year of power-ranking playoffs)

2008-09                29-8                       #4                           3^rd rd  2nd District                       

                            75-30                     71.428%

 COACH ALAN TINSLEY:

2009-10                20-12                     #18                         1^ST rd 2nd District

2010-11                27-4                       #7                           2^nd rd 2nd District

2011-12                20-7                       #8                           ????    2nd District       One game remaining in regular season                    

                           67-23                     74.444% 

COMBINED PAST 6 SEASONS: 

                               142-53                   72.821%     

This season has been a tale of two halves for two cross-town rivals.

The Alexandria Senior High boys basketball team began the season 6-6, as the team struggled with a season-ending injury to junior post player Shaan Washington. The Trojans turned it around at the break and proceeded to win 13 of their next 14 games.

Bolton High, on the other hand, started by winning five straight games and nine of its first 11. The Bears appeared to be a possible playoff team, but they lost 10 of their next 13 games, while dealing with the loss of three starters who became academically ineligible at the semester.

The two programs continued on those opposite trajectories in a late-season contest Friday night as ASH dominated Bolton, 93-42.

"After the start we had, we knew that we needed to win 14 of our next 16 games to get to 20 wins," said ASH coach Alan Tinsley, whose team is one game below Peabody in the District 3-4A rankings. "The only thing I can do is applaud and love the determination these men have faced this season."

"What happened to us that we lost three fifths of our starting lineup", said Bolton coach Fred Eloi. "We have been forced to play a lot of freshman and sophomores. Our dynamic has changed."

Dylan Brewer's bank shot put ASH (20-7, 8-1) on the scoreboard first, as the Trojans produced a 17-1 run. ASH's press defense frustrated Bolton (12-13, 2-8) as the visiting Bears were held without a field goal for over six minutes. Bolton's first field goal did not occur until Donovan Thomas hit a layup with 1:43 left in the opening period.

ASH's defense shut down Bolton for the majority of the game, as the Trojans forced 36 turnovers in the victory.

"We just didn't execute tonight," said Eloi. "We didn't execute what we did in practice the past few days."

Bolton did manage to break ASH's press late in the quarter as the Bears went on a 7-0 run but the rally was brief as ASH's Tyrone Harden ended the run with a 3-pointer. Bolton's Jay Johnson answered with a 3-pointer of his own, but by the end of the opening period the Bears trailed, 23-13.

Coach Alan Tinsley and his #9 power-ranked ASH Trojans went to Leesville tonight and took care of business.

The Trojans scored 75 tonight and got a 23-point win holding the Wampus Cats to 52 in their home gym. This district win secures 2nd place with the Tioga Indians getting their 4th district loss tonight against Peabody. ASH currently stands at 19-7 overall and 7-1 in district. In today's LHSAA released power-rankings ASH is at #9 with 2 games remaining. ASH will get 1/2 point added to power-rankings for district runner-up while district champions get a full 1 point added. These final additions will change the final power-rankings and ultimate pairings for the play-offs.

ASH may fall out of the Top 10 should the remaining top 10 teams win their respective districts. Most of the states' district runner-ups are not in the Top 10. ASH in most other districts would be the district champion if not competing with the perineal #1 ranked Warhorses.

Regardless of the final standings, ASH is assured of a 1st round home playoff game which is awarded to the top 16 teams.

More details to follow.......

ASH - 75   Leesville - 52

Christavious Gill              24

Dylan Brewer                   17

Eddie Travis                    15

Carlos Carroll                  8

Cortavious Williams         5

Joey Lacour                    2

Keldric Stevens                2

Brandon Jolly                  2

For the 2nd time this season ASH Hoops has demolished the Grant Cougars. In a 84-26 win, this 58-point victory on Friday night marks the second 50+ point margin of victory for the Trojans. In Round 1 at the Grant Cougars gym, ASH scored a season high 105 points on route to a 62 point margin of victory 105-43. The Trojans have outscored the Cougars this season 189-69.

ASH is soundly in 2nd place in District 3-4A only trailing the #1 ranked Peabody Warhorses. ASH jumped to a 31-2 1st quarter lead with the Trojans defense hardly letting the Cougars get the ball in an offensive position. After leading 62-12 at the half, the Cougars headed for their den. Scoring a low 26 points for the entire game (this marks the 5th time below 30-pts. this season), the Trojans defense was just too much for the young Cougars.

Eddie Travis and Christavious Gill led the Trojan scoring with 17 points each. Deshaun Obey chipped in 10 for another good balanced offensive attack with 10 players scoring.

ASH - 84   Grant - 26

Tay tay Gill -  17 pts.
Eddie Travis -  17
Deshaun Obey - 10
Dylan Brewer -  8
Joey Lacour - 8
Delton Lawton - 8
Carlos Carroll - 7
Dijae Cannon -4
Tyrone Harding - 2
Big Tay Williams - 2

 Trojans travel to Tioga tonight to start the second half of District. The Indians  gave a little bit of trouble to the Trojans tonight with their intense defense. However, after two overtimes – Trojans came out victors with a score of 75 to 61.

The Trojans trailed most of the game on to the last few seconds of regulation and tied the score at 50 to 50. But in the second overtime, the Trojans got it together and built up a 14 point lead to take second place in district 3-4A. Ash overall record goes to 17-7 and District record at 5-1 to take second place in district . First time leading scorer Joey Lacour led Trojan scoring with 17 points. Tay Tay Gill and Dylan Brewer scored 16 and 14 points respectively.

ASH Hoops fell from #6 to #8 after the tough loss to Peabody after Troy Jones broke the new backboard right before halftime. The game was completed at Brame Jr. High with no fanfare and little hoopla. The Trojans held the Warhorses to only 66 points which was their fewest scored points in district play.

ASH - 75   Tioga - 61

Joey Lacour - 17 pts.
Tay tay Gill -  16
Dylan Brewer -14
Eddie Travis -  9
Deshaun Obey -  8
Big Tay Williams - 6
Carlos Caroll -2
Tyrone Harding - 2

The Towntalk

Written by Bob Tompkins

Peabody Magnet High center Troy Jones did something Friday night believed to be a first in high school basketball in Rapides Parish.

He attempted a dunk with 15 seconds left in the second quarter at Alexandria Senior High, and although he didn't score, he brought down the house.

Figuratively, anyway.

Jones' dunk attempt broke the goal and shattered the glass backboard, causing the packed ASH gym to erupt with jaw-dropping emotions of awe and glee and, for some, distress.

The showdown between the top two boys basketball teams in District 3-4A was temporarily called, but the two teams finished the contest at the tiny gym at Brame Junior High, before nearly three dozen spectators. Peabody won, 66-33.

Jones led Peabody with 19 points and 17 rebounds, both career highs, and Dee Wagner added 16 points, but everybody was talking about Jones' glass-shattering dunk.

"That's a first in my (nearly) 40 years of coaching," Peabody coach Charles Smith said. "And the surprising thing was, even though goals tend to get weaker over time, it was only two years old."

"No, coach," interjected ASH coach Alan Tinsley, "it was just one year old. We just put it in last year."

When Jones got the ball close to the basket, he had one thing in mind.

"I was just trying to put it in," said Jones afterwards, noting he had never done such a thing in a game.

"I did it upstairs in the old (Peabody) gym playing around in practice one time, but I hung on for a while," he said.

When it happened at the ASH gym, while Peabody led the Trojans, 34-17, it was right about 8 p.m. and the game didn't resume at Brame until over an hour later, picking up where the two teams left off, and playing straight through to the end.

"After the backboard shattered," said ASH Principal Duane Urbina, "we talked to the LHSAA and the coaches, and on behalf of the kids, we did what most benefited them.

"If we called it right there, we'd have had to make it up, and that could have affected their postseason play. After several phone calls, the decision was made, if we can find another facility, we'll just take both teams there with no spectators because it wouldn't accommodate that many."

Urbina said the only spectators at the game were people connected with the administrators or coaches or teams of both schools.

"We had to check and see if Brame had a regulation-sized court," he added. "We called Menard but couldn't get their coach. We decided on Brame, once we found out their court was the regulation size, and both administrators and coaches agreed."

Tay Tay Gill led ASH with 13 points, and Dyland Brewer added 10, but the Trojans had difficulty -- especially in the first half -- in the rebounding battle with the Warhorses and against their defensive pressure.

Peabody girls win

In a showdown of the two best girls team in District 3-4A, Peabody beat ASH 64-50.

Peabody trailed 22-10 in the first quarter before going on an 18-0 run that stretched into the second period to take a 28-22 lead that was never threatened thereafter.

Ashley Madden scored 23 points to lead three players in double figures for ninth-ranked Peabody (17-8, 5-0). Triesha Owens added 19 points -- 16 in the first half -- and Kadijah Alexander scored 14.

Arieal Eldridge scored 19 points -- 14 in the first half -- to pace ASH.

"We didn't panic when we were down 12," said Peabody coach Michael Burks. "We started picking them up man-to-man and tried to set 'em up for our full-court trap. We started to get some steals, and Triesha put in some 3's, and we picked up the momentum."

"Defense did it for us," Madden said. "defense leads to offense. That's all we worked on before the game."

ASH slipped to 15-9 and 4-1 with the loss. 

If the Bolton Bears were as good at playing basketball as they were throwing elbows and trying to cut under the Trojans' layups, they would be tough to beat. But they're not. And the Trojans had no trouble disposing easily of the Bears to extend the winning streak to 10 games.

ASH Hoops remained solidly in the #6 spot in the weekly LHSAA power rankings and extended their overall record to 16-6 and their district record to 4-0 and tied for first place with the #1 ranked Peabody Warhorses. Coach Tinsley gave the entire team considerable playing time and they showed well against the outmatched Bolton Bears. Another good balanced scoring attack with 3 players in double digits led by Christavious Gill with 20 points. Dylan Brewer scored 15 and Carlos Carroll added 11.

ASH - 78   Bolton - 51

Christavious Gill - 20 pts.
Dylan Brewer - 15
Carlos Carroll - 11
Eddie Travis -  9
Joey Lacour - 8
Dijae Cannon -  4
Jacorey Robinson -  2
Deshaun Obey -  3
JD Williams -  6

The #6 power-ranked ASH Trojans have now extended their winning streak to 9 games deftly defeating the predominately left-handed Leesville Wampus Cats by 25 points.

I don't believe I have ever seen 3 of 5 starters on any basketball team left handed. With 2 guards that were very good at ball-handling with both hands and the center being a southpaw, their differences made no difference to the quicker, smarter, and more skilled ASH Trojans. In what appeared to be a high percentage field-goal percentage last night, many of the Trojans were dead on with their shooting whether it be from point-blank or 3-pointers. The quick intensive defensive pressure created numerous turnovers which the Trojans converted to points most of the time.

A good balanced scoring attack with Deshaun Obey who scored 12 points on Tuesday night continued his offensive threat leading with 17 points. Guards Christavious Gill and Dylan Brewer had 15 points while Eddie Travis pitched in 14 points.

ASH goes to 3-0 in district and 15-6 overall. Next week will face Bolton and host Peabody the #1 ranked team in the state.

ASH - 79  Leesville - 54

Deshaun Obey - 17 points

Christavious Gill - 15

Dylan Brewer - 15

Eddie Travis - 14

Joey Lacour - 5

Tyrone Jr. Harden - 5

Carlos Carroll - 2

Dijae Cannon - 2

Jacorey Robinson - 2

Joey Williams - 2

Cortavious Williams - 1

ASH Hoops Doc Welch scores career high 20 points to help LC break skid and defeat conference foe Ozarks.  

LC men break skid; No. 4 Duke routs Wake

PINEVILLE -- Doc Welch scored a career-high 20 points Thursday night as Louisiana College broke a seven-game losing streak with a 77-69 American Southwest Conference victory over Ozarks at H.O. West Fieldhouse.

Welch, a sophomore from Alexandria Senior High, hit six of 12 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. He was 3 of 4 from the foul line.

Korey Salmon finished with 18 points and a team-high eight rebounds while JeLani Mitchell had 18 points and six assists for the Wildcats, who improved to 5-8 overall and 5-6 in ASC play.

Ronnie Dodd had 25 points to lead Ozarks, which fell to 4-12 overall and 2-11 in the league.

ASH Hoops came out with a blast tonight scoring 77 points in the first half on route to a 105-43 victory over the overmatched Grant Cougars.

ASH moved up from #9 to #6 in today's just released LHSAA power-ranking and proved its' power tonight on Grant's home court. There was no doubt from the onset that the Trojans were ready to play jumping out to a 38-16 lead in the first quarter. After leading by 44 points at the half 77-33, ASH showed no mercy going into the 4th quarter with a 91-40 lead (51 pts). Coach Tinsley emptied the bench and everyone got in on the action.

The offense had a balanced scoring attack tonight with six players scoring in double figures. Dylan Brewer (19), Christavious Gill (16), and Deshaun Obey (12) combined for 47 of the 105 points.

ASH - 105   Grant - 43

Dylan Brewer - 19 pts.
Tay tay Gill - 16
Deshaun Obey - 12
Carlos Carroll - 11
Eddie Travis - 11
Cortavious Williams - 11
Dijae Cannon - 7
Joey Lacour - 6
Jacorey Robinson - 4
Tyrone Harden - 4
Brandon - 2
Jakori Baker - 2

The #9 ASH Trojans opened district play against the Tioga Indians with a win and extended their win streak to 7 games.

Senior sharp-shooting guard Dylan Brewer started the game scoring 2 long treys and scored 11 of the 1st quarter 14 points for the Trojans. ASH held a 14-8 lead at the end of one.  The Indians didn't have a perimeter game but depended on their quick guards to drive the lane creating Trojan fouls that kept them in the game. The Trojans held a slim lead at the half 24-23.

The Trojans picked up their game in the 3rd scoring 15 points and holding the Indians to 10 points ending the 3rd 39-33 ASH. A slow down pace kept the scoring close.

However, the Trojans came out in the 4th quarter and matched their 3rd quarter scoring in 4 minutes as the Trojans jumped out to a 16-point lead 54-38 going on a 15-5 run. Sharp-shooting junior guard Christavious Gill scored the majority of his points in the 4th when his 3-point shot got hot sinking 4 consecutive treys to extend the lead. After a short-lived 18-point margin, the Indians continued their aggressiveness to the basket and went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead back down to 10 points. Baskets were exchanged for the remainder the game resulting in a 10-point win for the Trojans 65-55.

Christavious Gill led scoring with 39 points and Dylan Brewer scored 12 for the only two Trojans in double figures.

ASH - 65   Tioga - 55

Christavious Gill - 39 pts.
Dylan Brewer -  12
Carlos Carroll -  4
Jacorey Robinson - 4
Eddie Travis -  4
Cortavious Williams -  2

The # 9 ranked ASH Hoops team travelled to Pleasant Hill on a chilly rain-soaked night to get a dominate win against the perinially Class C powerhouse team.

The high-octane offense and defense scored 83 points on route to a 32-point victory gaining their 12th win of the season and 6th win in a row. ASH will open district Friday night hosting the Tioga Indians.

Scoring Details to follow.....

ASH - 83   Pleasant Hill - 51

With district quickly approaching, the ASH Trojans are currently power-ranked #9 in the latest updated power rankings by LHSAA on 1/10/2012. The Trojans are currently at 11-6 and have one more contest tonight against Pleasant Hill before opening district play Friday at home against the Tioga Indians.

As usual the Trojans are in a tough district with the Peabody Warhorses currently holding the power-ranking of #1 in the state with a record of 17-1. Two other powerful district teams are in the top 25 with Leesville ranked #23 with a record of 11-5 and Tioga ranked #24 with a record of 16-5.

The ASH Hoops team is in a very favorable ranking position opening district play and has a good chance of finishing in the Top 10 by season-end. Third-year coach Alan Tinsley has made good adjustments to make-up for the loss of star center Shaan Washington. With strong play from Cortavious Williams (Big Tay) and others, the Trojans have been able to continue to show improvements in play-making.

ASH Hoops tamed the mighty Rapides Mustangs tonight in Trojan Gym scoring a season high 90 points holding the pesky Mustangs to only 51 points.

In getting closer to district opening the Trojans are beginning to look more like the record-setting Trojans from 2010. The increased intensity on both sides of the ball created a season high number of take aways. Coupled with the high speed offense pushing the ball up the court created a number of high percentage layups and quick scores off the steals. The pace of the game also ironically opened up the 3-point line and several Trojans capitalized from the arc tonight.

Scoring details to follow......

ASH - 90  Rapides - 51

ASH Hoops got its' first tournament championship of the 2011-12 season defeating the host Holy Saviour Menard Eagles by 15 points 53-38.

The Eagles held their own for 3 quarters but the Trojans were too quick and too intense with their defensive pressure. ASH held a 7 point lead at the half 34-27 but came out in the 3rd period to only score 1 point. Fortunately the Trojans defense held the Eagles to only 6 points and maintained a slim 2-point lead after 3 quarters 35-33.The Trojans picked up their scoring with many coming at the foul line in the 4th quarter and still held the host Menard team to only 5 points. The Trojan defense held the Eagles to only 11 points in the entire second half while scoring 19 points. Christavious Gill, Dylan Brewer, and Jacorey Robinson combined for 40 of the 53 points.

ASH will play host to Rapides Mustangs on Tuesday night for the first game of the new year 2012.

ASH - 53  Menard - 38

Tay tay  Gill - 18 pts.
Dylan Brewer - 13
Jacorey  Robinson - 9
Joey  LaCour -  6
Eddie  Travis - 5
Dijae  Cannon - 2

ASH Hoops got a slow start after the Christmas turkey in the first game last night against a competitive Marksville Tigers, but rebounded in the 2nd half to get the first round win in the annual Menard Holiday Classic tournament. Tay Tay Gill led all scorers with 28 points in a low-scoring game. ASH won 50-41.

ASH - 50  Marksville - 41

Tay tay Gill - 28 pts.
Eddie Travis  5
Carlos Carroll 4
Big Tay Williams 4
Dylan Brewer  3
Dijae Cannon 2
Jacorey Robinson 2
Tyrone Jr Harden 2

In the second round tonight ASH faced Coach Tinsley's former team in the Avoyelles Mustangs. Play stayed close in the first half with the score tied at 27. But Coach Alan Tinsley made some adjustments and the Trojans came out hot and quickly built a 12-point lead by the end of the 3rd quarter. The Mustangs would not go away easily keeping the score close with the ASH Hoops pulling out a 61-55 win to place them in the finals against the host Menard/Tioga winner. Senior Dylan Brewer led scoring pacing the Trojans with 11 points.

ASH - 61   Avoyelles - 55

Dylan Brewer - 11 pts.

Jacorey Robinson  10
Big tay Williams 10
Carlos Carroll  8
Joey LaCour  7
Tay tay Gill 6
Deshaun Obey5
Tyrone Harden 2
Eddie Travis 2

After a tough week the Trojans have bounced back and gotten a nice win over a competitive Opelousas team tonight.

After suffering a loss from the defending State champs on Friday, Coach Alan Tinsley was glad to see his team get a nice win tonight in front of the home crowd. Christavious Gill led the Trojans with 29 points while Jacorey Robinson had 11 and Carlos Carrol had 10. The Trojans will now take a short break for Christmas before returning to action locally at the Holiday Classic at Menard next week.

ASH - 82  Opelousas - 55

Christavious Gill - 29 pts.

Jacorey Robinson - 11

Carloss Carroll - 10

Eddie Travis - 9

Joey Lacour - 8

Cortavious Williams - 5

Dylan Brewer - 4

Tyrone Harden - 2

Brandon Smith -2

Dijae Cannon - 2

After losing on Tuesday night a winnable game against river rival Pineville Rebels, ASH Hoops traveled 2 hours to face for the 2nd time this year the defending 4A State Champs Bossier City.

Coach Tinsley knew they were in for a long night when the Trojans came out in the first quarter and only scored 2 points. It didn't get much better from that point on when the Trojans who usually finish very strong in the 4th quarter only scored 6 points. With the 22 points in between ASH for the first time had a poor showing on the offensive end.

ASH Hoops record is now at 6-6 on the year. ASH will host Opelousas on Monday night and will take a break until after Christmas when they stay in Alexandria to participate in the Annual Holy Saviour Menard Holiday Tournament beginning the 28th of December.

Bossier - 70  ASH - 30

After pulling out another come from behind victory over Sulphur on Thursday, ASH faced a tough Washington-Marion team on Friday night. Despite star guard Christivous Gill sinking 44 points for a season high, Marion pulled out the win 80-73.

ASH Trojans faced the #1 5A Airline team from Shreveport on Saturday night. Down by 11 points at the half, the Trojans hung in there and took their first lead of the night with 13 seconds remaining in the game. ASH Hoops took home a key victory over the #1 Airline team 55-54. Facing some of the toughest competition early in the season, Coach Tinsley is pleased with the progress his Trojans are making.

ASH has yet another tough week ahead facing cross town Pineville Rebels at Trojan Gym on Tuesday then traveling to Bossier City on Friday to face the defending 4A champions for the 2nd time this year.

Much like Tuesday night the Trojans found themselves trailing for most of the game. However, in the fourth quarter they rallied to win by 54-49 improving their record to 5-3.

Christavious Gill followed Tuesday's 25 point game with a 22 point game tonight. He got help from Dylan Brewer who scored 11 points.

ASH will face an always tough Washington-Marion tomorrow night.

ASH - 54   Sulphur - 49

Tay Tay Gill - 22 points

Dylan Brewer - 11

Tyrone Harden - 6

Big Tay Williams - 4

Eddie Travis - 4

Deshaun Obey - 3

Carlos Carroll - 2

Brett Lacour - 2

ASH Hoops gets a win tonight in the home opener against Captain Shreve to raise their record to above .500 for the first time this year.

ASH started off a little sluggish getting behind early before senior Dylan Brewer came in at the 4:00 mark and quickly made 8 points to help the Trojans end the 1st in a tie 15-15.

Live by the 3 die by the 3. The 3's were not falling early for the Trojans and the Gators distanced themselves and led at the half 37-29.

Coach Alan Tinsley made some adjustments and the Trojans came out firing on all cylinders in the 3rd with a renewed energy level. However, Shreve held their own and at the end of 3 still maintained a 7-point lead 50-43.

Shreve struggled to keep their lead in the 4th but it wasn't enough for the quicker Trojans as forced turnovers swung the score. The 3's began to fall as Gill and Travis began to light it up. ASH pulled ahead but the scrappy Gators kept hanging in there. Christavious Gill pulled up with a couple of 15-footers followed by a 3-ball by Dylan Brewer then another 3-ball by Carlos Carroll to even the score at 52 at the 6:20 mark. The scores tracked each other until  Cortavious "Big Tay" Williams pulled up for a 3-pointer to give the Trojans the lead for good 61-58 with 1:48 left in the game. Eddie Travis then stepped to the free throw line and sank 2 free-throws to widen the lead 65-60 with a 1:05 remaining. Dylan Brewer went 1-4, Gill 2-2, and Travis 2-2 from the charity stripe all under the 44 second mark to spread the lead to a 70-64 victory. ASH goes to 4-3 and will travel this weekend in the Sam Houston tournament.

ASH - 70  Captain Shreve - 64.

Tay tay Gill  25

Dylan Brewer 12

Eddie Travis 12

Tyrone Harden  6

Big Tay Williams  6

Jacorey Robinson        3

Carlos Carroll  2

Joey 2

Dijae Cannon 2

ASH Hoops have already played 6 games but tonight they will anxiously open at home against a previous foe in 5A Captain Shreve from Shreveport, La. ASH met Captain Shreve in their first game of the season defeating them in the opening round of the Natchitoches City of Lights tournament.ASH won by 15 points 65-50 on November 21.

Coach Alan Tinsley is still making adjustments for the loss of star power forward Shaan Washington apparently out for the season due to a football injury. Shaan Washington would have been a 3-year starter for the varsity team. The athletic Washington was the leading rebounder and second leading scorer for the Trojans behind fellow junior point-guard Christavious "Tay Tay" Gill during their record-breaking 2010-11 season. The ASH Trojans only had 4-losses during the entire season and are close to matching that with 3 losses to date.

Tonight's actions begins with a boys junior varsity game at 5:30 followed by a girls varsity game at 6:15. The nightcap will feature the rematch of the 2 varsity teams.

Season tickets will be available for sale at the gate.

ASH Hoops split games at the Teurlings Catholic Rebel Roundball Classic.

ASH lost to a scrappy Plaquemine in overtime. While the Trojans tied the score to go to an extra period, free throws and turnovers again were a menace causing a 10-point loss.

ASH - 62  Plaquemine - 72

On Saturday ASH slowed the pace of the ball to gain control of the pace in the losers bracket against Port Barre. This resulted in a low scoring contest but held their opponents to an unbelievable 2 points in the entire 2nd half. A balanced scoring attack help seal the win with Christavious Gill and Eddie Travis leading scoreres with 12 points each.

ASH - 41   Port Barre - 24 

Tay Tay        12

Eddie           12

Dylan           9

Big Tay         8      

Jr                6

Carlos          4

Joey            4

Dijae           1

ASH Hoops will have its' first home game Tuesday night hosting Captain Shreve whom they defeated earlier in the season at the Natchitoches City of Lights tournament.

With the loss of star power forward Shaan Washington, Coach Alan Tinsley is trying to find the personality of this year's Trojans.

ASH Hoops traveled Monday night immediately after coming off a Thanksgiving break to face a hostile crowd and environment to down Beau Chene 72-67. ASH evens their record to 2-2 for the year.

The good news is that ASH Hoops has the football players back on the team. The bad news is that the star post player junior Shaan Washington has been placed on the disabled list and may be out for the entire basketball season.

After a record-setting season playing both offense and defense for the quarter finalist ASH Trojans football team, Washington was suddenly placed on the DL for basketball due to a wrist fracture. It is unclear the extent of the injury and the duration of the recovery.  Coach Alan Tinsley is extremely disappointed with the news. He has placed Joey and Cortavious in the post position. Both have considerable playing experience and Coach Tinsley has full confidence in them to raise their performance levels.

Carlos Carroll was able to return to the team and made a contribution to the team in last night's contest. Carroll will likely be up to basketball speed in a couple of weeks.

A good balanced scoring attack led the Hoopsters to a good quality win in a hostile environment in South Louisiana. Junior Christavious Gill led scorers with 17 points while Dylan Brewer, Jacoury, and Eddie adding 10 points each. Joey-6 pts, Jr.-5 pts, Dajae-5 pts, Carlos-4 pts, Tavis-2 pts, Markese-2 pts.

ASH - 72     Beau Chene - 67

After opening with a win over Captain Shreve, ASH Hoops didn't have as good of luck with their remaining two opponents from the Shreveport-Bossier area.

On Tuesday, ASH faced off with the defeneding Class 4A State Champs Bossier. ASH hung with them in the 1st quarter but things turned sour after that.  Bossier-69   ASH-41

On Wednesday, ASH faced Southwood. Up and down throughout the game, the Trojans didn't have an answer for 17 "3's" from Southwood. ASH ended just slightly on the wrong end. Southwood-72  ASH-71.

ASH will have a break until after Thanksgiving and will hit it hard next week. ASH will travel to Beau Chene on Monday. ASH will then begin the Teurlings Catholic tourney in Lafayette on Wednesday. ASH has performed well in the TC tournament the past few years winning it in 2008.

ASH Hoops opened the season with the first official contest defeating the 5A team from Captain Shreve, Shreveport 65-50.

In a hard fought contest in the Annual Natchitoches City of Lights Tournament being held in the Prather Coliseum of NSU, ASH struggled early against Captain Shreve. In a tough first half, ASH managed to score only 11 points but held Captain Shreve to 17.

The second half was kinder to the Trojans as they go ahead to score 54 points holding Shreve to only 33. ASH will now face the defending state Class 4A champions Bossier tomorrow at 4:30. Bossier defeated Peabody handily in the 2011 State finals to claim their championship after reaching the finals two consecutive years.

ASH - 65   Captain Shreve - 50

Christavious Gill - 33 points

Eddie - 10

Jacorey - 5

Tavis - 4

Dylan Brewer, Tyrone, Cortavious - 3 pts. each

Jakon, Dijae - 2 pts. each

After coming off of an ASH Hoops record-setting season with an unprecedented 27-4 record, the ASH Trojans are determined to show a new and improved ASH Hoops team. Coach Alan Tinsley in his 3rd season as Head Coach is looking forward to the season start and has been very pleased with pre-season progress. Coach Tinsley continues to build the program into a perrinial contender and is excited about the 2011-12 season.

ASH went into the 2011 spring play-offs with a power-ranking of #7 but fell short in the regionals of advancing to the third round. With the core players returning and adding some key talent to replace last year's seniors, the ASH Trojans should be stronger, quicker, and smarter.

The pre-season has been busy with scrimmages in New Orleans, Natchitoches Central and Parkway in Bossier City. There is a Hall of Fame game scheduled November 12 in Baton Rouge against Zachery Catholic.

This year's schedule is a tough one with the Trojans participating in 4 tournaments, Natchitoches Central tourney, Teurlings Catholic, Sam Houston, and Menard. The Trojans will host power-houses West Monroe, Captain Shreve, Opelousas, and Rapides in non-district games. The Trojans will travel to face defending 4-A champion Bossier in December.

Season opens as the ASH Hoops will play at the Bolton Jamboree on November 17.

ASH Hoops traveled down to Baton Rouge on a beautiful Saturday to test its' 2011-12 team. In this "Hall of Fame" game that doesn't count in official wins/losses, the ASH Hoops grinded out a win over the Class 5A powerhouse at Catholic High of Baton Rouge.

With Hoops stars Shaan Washington and Carlos Carroll busy winning a 1st round playoff game for the ASH Trojans football team, the ASH Hoops had to depend on the leadership and play of junior star point guard Christavious Gill. Gill had good support from the rest of the team to hold Catholic to only 40 points. Coach Alan Tinsley noted that play was not as pretty as he would like to see, but would take the win none the less.

The Trojans will play at the Bolton Jamboree on Thursday night and will continue to play without the two football stars until they have made their bid for a football state championship.

The Bolton Jamboree starts at 6:00 PM tonight with the ASH girls slated to play Peabody at 6:25 and face Bolton at 6:50.

The ASH Boys will face Bolton at 7:30 and get a game break to watch Bolton v. Peabody. ASH will face Peabody at 8:15 in the finale.

ASH Hoops doubled the score of Bolton 19-10 defeating the Bears in the shortened jamboree game. ASH sat out while Peabody defeated Bolton 27-14. ASH faced Peabody in the finale with Peabody coming out on top with identical scores of their first game 27-14.

ASH Hoops stars Shaan Washington and Carlos Carroll with play in the regional contest in the 2011 LHSAA Class 4-A football playoffs on the Trojan home field Friday night. Once football season has ended the two stars will return and give a boost to the Hoops team.

ASH Hoops will travel to Natchitoches Central to play in the Thanksgiving tournament Mon-Wed of next week.