NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In a “Green Machine” battle between two defending state championship programs, the Ponchatoula Green Wave defeated the Newman Greenies in the 2023 Hoopfest Classic Championship on Friday night at the Loyola New Orleans Sports Complex.
The Hoopfest Tour summer basketball event featured Ponchatoula, Newman, Zachary, Catholic High of Baton Rouge, Hannan High, L.B. Landry, and St. Thomas More (STM).
The Green Wave defeated STM and then Zachary in the semifinals to take on Newman in the championship. Zachary, who won the 2022 LHSAA championship, was disqualified from the 2023 playoffs. Thus, fans highly anticipated the semifinal matchup with the Broncos, which many believe would have been Ponchatoula’s opponent in last year’s final.
It lived up to its hype. Down by two in the final seconds, a Zachary player drove into the paint and converted on a finger roll layup, but a charging call erased the game-tying play at the buzzer and allowed Green Wave to escape with a 63-61 win.
The championship game ended 27-25 in Ponchatoula’s favor. Due to time constraints, the teams agreed to play just one 20-minute half.
Despite the shortened final, it was the first chance to see two Ponchatoula’s Allen Graves play since his commitment to Santa Clara University. It was also the first time Newman head coach Randy Livingston coached his son RJ Livingston, since the rising sophomore transferred to Newman to play for his dad.
If Newman wins the 2024 state championship in January, Randy Livingston will be the first LHSAA coach to win three straight basketball titles, a feat he already accomplished as a player when he led the Greenies to three consecutive Class 2A state championships in 1991, 1992, and 1993.
Watch WGNO’s interview with Coach Livingston on YouTube.
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