2/4/26
brusly defeats plaquemine to stay undefeated in district

Brusly capitalizes on Plaquemine's mistakes, earns District 6-4A win

BY CHARLES SALZER | Contributing writer

 

Jan 30, 2026

 

 

 1 min to read

 

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It's one thing to make it to the free-throw line, and it's another to put the shot away. Brusly did that and more Friday night against District 6-4A rival Plaquemine.

Brusly took care of business at the foul line and grinded out a 70-60 win at the Panthers gym.

Brusly (17-4, 3-0) came in wanting to make more free throws than Plaquemine, and they accomplished that goal. Brusly made 32 of 40 at the foul line while Plaquemine (15-9, 1-1) connected on 21 of 28.

In addition to bragging rights, the win gave Brusly a leg up on the Green Devils in the chase to win the massive, nine-team district they are part of. It also had importance in the Division II non-select power ratings, where Brusly was fourth and Plaquemine seventh before Friday's contest.

"That was a key coming in," Brusly coach Kirby Loupe said. "Our goal was to make more free throws than they shot. We wanted to put pressure on them and tighten the rim, and I thought our boys did a really good job of that."

Brusly looked to be in comfortable shape, leading 52-34 with two minutes left in the third quarter. Plaquemine put together an 11-2 run that bridged the third and fourth quarters to get back in the game.

The Green Devils got as close as 64-58 on Chris Griffin's steal and basket with 2:41 left to play. Brusly's Ryland Johnson scored twice for the Panthers, and they made four free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

Johnson led Brusly with 19 points, and he got support from Kazi Murray (15) and Ben Radford (10). Plaquemine's Jakyris Jenkins led all scorers with 23 points.

The opening quarter was close, with both teams shooting better than 50% from the field. Brusly led 20-17 after one, and 24-19 when it found an unexpected spark.

Plaquemine's Roderick Bingham got a steal and passed ahead to Tyrinn Hergleson for a breakaway dunk. But, instead of tightening the score, Harrelson was assessed a technical for hanging on the rim. Brusly's Micah Bryant made both free throws, and the Panthers added seven more points, all from the free throw line, before Plaquemine scored again.

Brusly made 19 of 24 free throws in the half and led 36-27 at the break.

"Plaquemine is really tough, and they're well coached," Loupe said. "This rivalry, whether it's basketball or football, it's just a really good rivalry. And this game tonight was two quality basketball teams. Our guys made plays down the stretch and so did