Crescent City sophomore Dwight Magee got the go-ahead from his coach last season to shoot 3-pointers whenever he could. Before the season ended, the 5-foot-10 guard had the Pioneers playing in the semifinals of the LHSAA Division IV state playoffs.
Magee could be on a similar path this season. Magee made eight 3-pointers and scored 36 points to help Crescent City defeat Holy Cross 71-63 Thursday in the opening round of the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic at the Alario Center in Westwego.
The quick-shooting Magee made five 3-pointers in the first half to help Crescent City (13-2) overcome a 10-0 deficit in the opening game of the 16-team Boys National bracket, setting up a Friday quarterfinal against Peabody, which reached the Division II select semifinals last season.
“I used to shoot the ball, and when I missed, I used not want to shoot the ball again,” Magee said. “(Coach Brandon Russ) told me, ‘Keep shooting, keep shooting.’ And when I kept shooting, eventually they’re going to fall.”
When the Russ was told Magee made eight 3-pointers against Holy Cross, “That’s normal for him,” the coach said.
Magee scored the first 11 points for his team and ended the half with 22. His final 3-pointer of the first half put Crescent City ahead 39-36 for a lead it never relinquished. His first three baskets after halftime were 3-pointers. He made a clutch 2-point jumper from near the baseline that started a 10-1 run after Holy Cross junior Cash Pichon scored after a pass from senior Trent Ramsey to make the score 61-59.
“We tried to make it as hard as we could (for Magee to shoot),” Holy Cross coach Mister Kirkwood said. “When you’re a basketball player, and you hit one, and you hit two, and you have some confidence, it’s like you’re having a Steph Curry night.”
Russ described Magee as “one of the top 2026 players in the state of Louisiana,” he said. “He’s a special talent. I want more coaches to come out here and see what kind of talent Dwight Magee is.”
Senior Jovanni Perez had another large share of points for Crescent City with 22 points and 6-of-8 shooting from the free-throw line. He scored six points during that 10-1 run. Junior Isiah Stevens made the only other 3-pointer for Crescent City. He had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Ramsey scored 15 points and Pichon 14 for Holy Cross (12-4). Junior forward Derrick Johnson scored the first seven of his 14 points when the Tigers opened to a 10-0 lead.
“In the second half, we couldn’t get into a set play and run it effectively,” said Kirkwood, whose team will play a consolation game against Booker T. Washington of Pensacola, Florida. “It’s going to be tough during district if in crucial moments we can’t get into a set and bunker down.”
Holy Cross will play its first District 9-5A game Tuesday at Brother Martin, which lost in overtime against St. Augustine in the district opener for those schools.
In other games, Carver defeated Westbury Christian (Texas) 47-37 and will play 5:30 p.m. Friday against Silsbee (Texas), a 63-60 winner against Shaw. Peabody beat Booker T. Washington (Florida) 52-36.
Later games put John Curtis against Milton (Georgia), Hannan against Thayer (Missouri), St. Thomas More against Charlotte (Florida) and Newman against Trinity (Kentucky).