Country Day defended its home court as hosts of the Country Day Classic in a championship matchup against Sophie B. Wright on Saturday.
The annual tournament at Country Day featured eight teams from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Cajuns defeated Sophie B. Wright 56-49 on Saturday night to claim the boys tournament title.
Hermon Dyson scored the first four points of the game for Country Day followed by Jacorey Washington scoring four for Sophie B. Wright. A back-and-forth contest early on swung in the Cajuns' favor in the second half, as they outscored the Warriors 32-21.
"I really think there are five or six final four teams in this tournament," Country Day coach Mike McGuire said. "We defended well (in the first half), but didn't rebound well. I told them that if we could just rebound better, and we got some run-outs late, that we would be able to come back and beat (Sophie B. Wright)."
Dyson scored 11 points and was named tournament MVP. He delivered a commanding dunk to put the Cajuns up by six with 1:02 left in the game.
"I was sick a few weeks ago but just had to come out with some intensity and bring it home for the team," Dyson said. "Our second-half push was really hard. You have to come out with intensity and keep pushing. The dunk boosted our confidence back up."
Country Day's Kellen Brewer had a team-high 13 points, with Andrew Nelson adding 11. Nelson had five points during a crucial 7-0 third-quarter run for the Cajuns.
"(Brewer) has been our leading scorer," McGuire said. "Our overall leader is our senior Andrew Nelson. He really is the glue."
Curtis McAllister played a key role off the bench with six points for the winners. Brennan White scored eight points and McAllister Callejo had five.
Washington and Paul Chester led Sophie B. Wright with 17 points each. The Warriors led by two at halftime but struggled to contain a fast-paced Country Day team as the game went on.
"(Country Day) just made a few more plays than us," Warriors coach Jason Bertrand said. "Chester is coming back from football and getting his basketball legs under him. Washington is a returning All-Metro player. He's been carrying the torch for us."
Country Day (10-3) will next head to a tournament next week in La Verne, California. Sophie B. Wright (8-3) will play in Hannan's tournament next week.