Marksville outlasts Red River, 67-59, to complete surprising run to boys Division III non-select championship

Tigers complete run to the title as a No. 6 seed

LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA – In an unpredictable Division III non-select bracket, one thing was for certain. 

Saturday’s championship winner would celebrate its first boys basketball title.

Marksville defeated Red River, 67-59, to not only claim its first title in boys basketball history, but in any sport.

“Down the stretch we made free throws, got the lead and slowed the ball down a little bit,” Tiger coach Alex Perkins said. “They were rushing a bit, because we were milking the clock.”

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Tiger senior Zachary Schuler earned Most Outstanding Player honors after scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds, while shooting 8-for-10 from the field. Freshman Devin Lavalais added a game-high 20 points and 12 rebounds on a 7-for-12 clip.

“It feels good because I did it with this team,” Schuler said. “This was the only team I wanted to do it with.”

Marksville freshman Devin Lavalais (2) tries to get inside the lane against Red River in the Division III non-select championship game March 9, 2024

Marksville (22-16) nearly seized control of the game near the end of the third quarter, but gave up eight unanswered points as the Bulldogs led, 50-48, with eight minutes to go.

However, Red River (23-15) did not capitalize on that spurt as it shot 4-for-15 and missed all six of its 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter. In all, Red River shot just 2-for-20 from long range for the game.

Junior Jomello McDonald had 17 points with 11 rebounds and three steals and fellow junior Chris Gay added 19 points and eight rebounds.

“Our shots weren’t falling like normal,” Bulldogs coach Dadrian Harris said. “The missed shots late in the game held us from getting over the hump.”

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To get here, both teams contributed to the upset-filled bracket that had all top five seeds lose in either the regionals or quarterfinals.

Marksville, the No. 6 seed, upset No. 3 seed Winnfield in the quarterfinals, while No. 13 seed Red River dispatched No. 4 Vinton, No. 5 Madison and No. 8 Donaldsonville in its first run to the finals since 2003.

Perkins, who coached at Alexandria Senior High and Jena, previously made the state tournament as Bastrop’s coach during that 2003 season and wondered if he would ever return for a shot of redemption.

“I’ve been coming down here watching these games every year wondering if I’d ever make it,” Perkins said. “I made it in 2003 with Bastrop, but that’s been 20 years.

"Sometimes, it’s a hit-and-miss or you get lucky. Everything kind of fell in place this year.”

-- LaMar Gafford | @SBLiveLA