By Daniel Green |  BWS Sports

ANACOCO — The road has been rocky at times. But the second-ranked Anacoco Indians have persevered.

“These boys have come a long way to get here,” veteran Anacoco head coach Randy Carlisle said following the Indians’ quarterfinal win Thursday night over the seventh-seeded Choudrant Aggies, 54-32. “It’s been a rocky road at times and they’ve had to grow up fast. But I’m excited for these boys.”

The Indians (31-10) advanced to the Class B semifinals, whIle the Aggies closed out their season with a mark of 19-12.

Anacoco scored the initial four points of the contest, but watched Choudrant trim the gap to one, 6-5, on a fadeaway jumper from Chris Williams and an open three-pointer by Parker Batterton.

But Brayden Prichard hit a shot at the buzzer after chasing down an offensive rebound to push the Indian advantage to 8-5.

The Indians scored the first 13 points of the second quarter, nine of which came on a trifecta of three-pointers from guard Chase Taylor, pushing the Anacoco lead to 21-5 before Williams buried a shot from beyond the arc to stop the bleeding.

However, Anacoco responded with eight straight points, which included three-pointers from Landin Draughn and Kaleb Goodwin, giving the Indians a 29-8 cushion at the halftime intermission.

The second half proved to be much of the same story as Anacoco continued to pull away from the Aggies. Dustin Welch, who was held scoreless in the first half, came to life offensively, as did 6-8 post Emanuel Luzardo.

By the end of the third quarter, Anacoco had opened up a 38-14 lead and was well on its way to victory. Choudrant, behind Jackson Case and Williams, managed to outscore the Indians over the final eight minutes, but it was too late as Anacoco punched its ticket to Burton Coliseum.

Taylor led the Indians with 13 points, while Luzardo, who threw down a pair of monster two-handed jams in the second half, finished with 12 points. Prichard added 11 points.

Williams paced the Aggies with 13 points, while Jackson Case finished with 10 points. Batterton chipped in with nine points.

Simpson Broncos……39

Pleasant Hill Eagles….36

SIMPSON — For the sixth straight season, the Simpson Broncos are bound for the state semifinals.

The Broncos rallied from an early 10-point deficit to knock off district rival Pleasant Hill on Friday, 39-36.

Simpson fell behind the Eagles, 14-4, early on, but managed to tie the game up at 14-14 by the end of the first period, By the halftime intermission, the Eagles had rallied to regain the lead, but the game was knotted at 30-30 heading into the final frame.

But the Broncos were able to hold off the Eagles for a third time this season to reach the state tournament in Lake Charles.

Ethan Nash led the Broncos with 11 points, while Brayden Cutts added 10 points. Fred Edwards paced Pleasant Hill with 11 points.

Phoenix Spartans…..80

Hornbeck Hornets…..79 

HORNBECK— The Hornbeck Hornets made a late run, but fell just short of returning to the Class C state semifinals, falling on Friday to the Phoenix Spartans, 80-79.

Hornbeck owned a 42-40 lead at the break, but fell behind in the third period and was unable to overcome the deficit.

Derwin Ancar led Phoenix with 27 points, while Rondell Battle contributed 20 points. Jerrell Encalade finished with 17 points.

Brady Alexander paced Hornbeck with 33 points, while Jaren Mitcham closed his career with a 25-point effort. Parker Alexander chipped in with 11 points.