NEW ORLEANS &8212; No one really had an idea of what to expect when Ferriday walked into the Newman High School gym and started warming up.

But Trojans head coach James Davis had a feeling. Six years ago when the Trojans faced Newman, he still had a paper from that game and suspected what would happen &8212; slow ball control and lots and lots of waiting.

He was right.

The Trojans survived it all to take a 28-22 win and get one step away from the Top 28. They will visit Donaldsonville, who beat St. Charles Catholic 102-98 in triple overtime Monday, at 7 p.m. Friday.

&8220;We played well despite what they were trying to do,&8221; Davis said. &8220;That&8217;s all we can ask, man. They want you to be in a man-to-man defense to run the Princeton offense with back-door screens. We had success with them with a zone defense. That really was the difference in the game.&8221;

It worked, and the Trojans were able to put up 12 points in the fourth quarter and hold off the Greenies. Newman trailed 12-7 at halftime before rallying to trim the deficit to 16-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Eric Crump led the Trojans with 17 points.

The Trojans led 5-3 at the end of the first quarter.

&8220;We missed on some opportunities inside early in the ball game,&8221; Davis said. &8220;If we get those opportunities early in the game, we&8217;re up at halftime by a big margin.&8221;