Arch Manning and his young
Newman (New Orleans) basketball teammates will have to wait for another day to win a state title. With four freshmen and six sophomores on a 15-man roster, the Greenies couldn't make enough plays down the stretch in a 52-48 loss to
Dunham (Baton Rouge), which won its fourth consecutive Division III state title in Louisiana on Friday at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.
Carlos Stewart, one of five senior starters for Dunham, scored 28 points including nine of his team's last 10 points to wipe out a furious Newman rally and hopes for a 10th state title but first since 1993.
Newman, which got 19 points from
Chris Lockett and 10 by
Canin Jefferson, both sophomores, rallied from 37-29 deficit entering the fourth quarter to take a 48-42 lead on a three-point play from Lockett with 2:45 remaining.
But it was all Stewart from there as he made a 3-pointer and traditional three-point play on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 48-48 with 2:12 remaining. Jefferson missed two free throws — Newman was 6 of 12 at the line for the game — and a free throw by
Jase Augustus put the Tigers in the lead for good with 50.9 seconds left.
Stewart, a state player of the year candidate, iced it with three free throws in the final 26 seconds. The 6-foot-2 guard and Santa Clara commit came in averaging 33 points per game. Newman (20-5), the top seed, didn't score the final 2:45.
Manning, the nephew of future NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, started the game but went scoreless. The nation's top rated sophomore quarterback led a young football team into the state semifinals last November, but the Greenies, also the top seed in that tournament, lost to a more experienced team and defending champion Lafayette Christian Academy, 21-7.
Dunham (14-12) came in the second seed and opened up its eight-point lead entering the fourth with a 7-0 run. Lockett, a 6-5 guard considered one of the top sophomores in the country, led the fourth-quarter charge with 10 of his team-high total. He entered with averages of 18.6 points, eight rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
His three-point play gave Newman its biggest lead of the game, but down the stretch the Greenies missed their last seven shots. It was the second straight year Dunham eliminated Newman after a 59-55 semifinal victory in 2020.
Second-year Newman coach Randy Livingston is a former NBA standout and Louisiana prep legend. He led Newman to its last state championship, one of three in a row. The 1991 and 1992 teams also featured Arch's father Cooper, the team's starting point guard. Peyton was the sixth man on the 1992 team.
With so many pieces coming back the next two years, Newman has a good shot at its elusive 10th championship.
Arch Manning has put up much more impressive numbers on the gridiron with more than 4,000 passing yards and 53 touchdowns.
File photo by Parker Waters
