Two Louisiana boys basketball teams ruled ineligible to participate in postseason play

LHSAA makes decision in aftermath of altercation during game involving Zachary and Liberty Magnet

By Mike Coppage 

Both Zachary High and Liberty Magnet will be ineligible to participate in the Louisiana boys basketball playoffs, which begin next week.

Friday afternoon, the Louisiana High School Athletic Association listed each program as "not participating in the playoffs" in the power ratings section of its site.

In a District 4-5A meeting between the two schools on Wednesday, an altercation occurred in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Videos posted to social media showed two players initially involved with a chaotic scene unfurling from there. Fans rushed onto the court as staff members from each school attempted to diffuse the situation.

Although Zachary held a sizable lead at the time the game was halted, the outcome was listed as a double-forfeit by the LHSAA. The Broncos' scheduled regular-season finale on Friday against Catholic-Baton Rouge was also canceled.

Zachary, which was seeking its third consecutive state title, finished the season with a 21- 6 record.

Before Friday, the Broncos were No. 3 in the Division I non-select power ratings behind New Iberia and Ruston. Ponchatoula moved into the No. 3 slot. If the playoff brackets were released today, Belle Chasse would land the final spot in that bracket as the No. 28 seed.

Liberty (17-7) spent considerable time at No. 1 in the Division I select power ratings during the early weeks of the season. Last year, the top-seeded Patriots lost to No. 3 Archbishop Hannan in the Division II select finals.

Before Friday, Liberty was third among Division I select schools behind Scotlandville and St. Thomas More. After the change to the power ratings, Catholic-Baton Rouge moved to No. 3.

If the brackets were released today, Carencro would receive the final playoff berth as the No. 24 seed.

According to Robin Fambrough of the Baton Rouge Advocate, officials from Zachary and Liberty met with the LHSAA on Friday morning. While the LHSAA did not publicly address the ruling, it released a memo earlier in the day spelling out its zero-tolerance policy for fighting. 

The LHSAA will announce the boys basketball postseason pairings on Monday.