Crowley’s one-two punch of Josh Burnett and Ja’Colby Byers have given opponents problems all season long.
Tuesday, the Iota Bulldogs became the latest team to experience the pair’s talents.
Burnett and Byers combined for 50 points as the Gents pulled away in the second half for a 63-52 victory over the Bulldogs.
“We played hard, but those guys (Burnett and Byers) were shooting the lights out,” said IHS coach Stacy Bertrand, whose squad fell to 12-9 overall and 0-3 in District 5-3A play with the loss. “We never really let it get out of hand, but even when we made a little run, those guys had an answer.”
The Gents, who improved to 18-3 on the season and 3-0 in league play, jumped out to a quick 17-7 advantage in the first quarter and led by as many as 15 in the second before taking a 32-23 cushion into the break.
Burnett and Byers combined for 21 of the Gents’ 32 first half points.
“Even before the season started, Iota was the team that scared me the most,” said CHS coach Jason Lewis. “Coming to their place with they way they shoot the ball and then playing in front of their crowd; I knew it could a battle.
“I kind of had a feeling that we would come out a little shaky, but offensively, we played pretty well.”
The Bulldogs tightened things up early in the third quarter on back-to-back layups by Colby Wilson and Jeron Latiolais that trimmed the lead to four (34-30) and it appeared the hosts had the momentum they needed.
But that momentum quickly shifted.
Byers and Burnett knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers after that to push the lead back to 10 and the two teams traded baskets afterward to end the frame.
“We were able to fight through that little surge that they had and we went on a little run,” said Lewis. “That’s the good thing about us: We are kind of dangerous and we can go on a 10-0 run at any time just that fast when we’re shooting the ball that well.”
Colby Wilson attempted to get the Bulldogs back into the game in the fourth quarter by scoring 11 of his team-high 24 points over the final eight minutes.
Burnett and Byers, however, combined for 15 points during that span and the Gents outscored the Bulldogs 17-16.
Burnett led all scorers on the night with 27 points. He also had seven rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Byers was just as impressive with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Braeden Board also had an impressive night with seven points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.
In addition, Chris Lewis had four points and Perry Myles added two.
For Iota, Wilson was followed by Latiolais with 11 points and Tyrone Charlot with nine. Brett Clay added nine points and Kobe Dar Dar rounded out the Bulldogs’ scoring with two points.
In girls action, Madeline Gatte led a group of eight Lady Dogs in scoring as Iota rolled to a 54-33 victory over the Crowley Ladies in the opener.
Gatte scored seven points in the first half before exploding for 12 in the final two frames to finish with a game-high 19 points. She also had 16 rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Iota (14-5, 4-1) jumped out to a 15-1 lead after the first quarter thanks to seven points from Gatte.
Crowley (8-9, 2-3) rallied in the second frame behind six points from Lily Hoffpauir and trailed just 30-15 at the break.
Gatte got going again in the third frame with eight more points and Colleen Johnson added five to help the Lady Dogs push the lead to 46-25.
The pace slowed tremendously in the fourth quarter with each team scoring just eight points.
Johnson was the only other Lady Dog to score in double figures with 14 points. She also dished out seven assists.
Madison Oliver also had an impressive night for the Lady Dogs with seven points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
In addition, Kendall Miller had five points and seven rebounds and Adriana Curtis had four points. Naomi Rasberry and Lilly Zaunbreacher each added two points and Brooke Andrepont rounded out the offense wtih one point.
Crowley was led by Lily Hoffpauir and Jailyn Smith with seven and six points, respectively.
Calasha Cerf added five points, Tionne Breaux, Marcy Miller and Taylor Walker each added four points and Jaelyn Hebert had three.