By Michael Kiral / L’Observateur / January 23, 1998

EDGARD – West St. John used speed and a tenacious defense to take anemotional 102-66 victory over Riverside Friday night.

The West St. John players dedicated the game to coach Antoine Edwards,who missed the game with a bout with pneumonia. Assistant coach LennixMadere filled in and saw the Rams improve to 8-6 overall and 2-0 inDistrict 9-2A. Riverside fell to 8-11 overall and 1-1 in district play.Elijah Jasmine led six Rams in double figures with 20 points. DonreilLouis popped in 18 points, while Adair Alexander contributed 15. MarlonJackson with 11 points and Joseph Gross and Pendarvas Morris with 10apiece also cracked into double figures.

Riverside was led by Keith LeBlanc with 15 points. Anson Mathernecontributed 10 points, while David Jackson and George Murla poured ineight points apiece.

LeBlanc opened the scoring with a 3-pointer before the Louis answeredwith a put back and a 3-pointer. The Rams continued to hit from theoutside as Jackson hit a jump shot from the left corner and Jasmine andAlexander followed with 3-pointers to give West St. John a 13-5 lead.After a jump shot by Brad Delaneuville, Jasmine scored on a miss beforethe Rams went back outside with jumper by Jackson and Jasmine. Morrisanswered a 3-pointer by Murla with a put back to give the Rams a 26-12advantage at the end of the first quarter.

West St. John continued to out-rebound the Rebels as the second quarteropened as Morris put back his own miss. Then on a play that demonstratedwhat kind of night it was for the Rams, Gross fired up a shot from theright corner that bounced off the top of the backboard and into the net.After a timeout by Riverside and a layup by Matherne, West St. Johncontinued its aerial bombardment with a jump shot by Gross. Louis thengrabbed a defensive rebound, drove upcourt, stopped at the arc and poppedin a 3-pointer to build the Rams’ lead to 35-16.

Riverside pulled to within 38-22 on a three-point play and a 3-pointer byLeBlanc. Jasmine the took over, pumping in a jump shot. On the Rebels’next possession, Jasmine grabbed a steal and knocked down a 3-pointerfrom the left side. He followed that with another steal, giving the ball toLouis who found Morris driving the right base for a 45-22 lead.

Free throws by Jackson and a layup by Delaneuville brought the Rebelsback to within 47-28. But again the Rams answered as Arthur Johnsonknocked down two free throws and Alexander scored on a tip-in. The Ramswould take a 58-36 lead into the locker room.

The teams traded baskets to open the second half with a LeBlanc findingBarraco cutting inside to bring the Rebels to within 62-42. The Rams thenclosed out the third quarter with a 26-2 run to take a 88-44 lead into thefourth quarter.

Gross started the run with a jump shot from the free throw line. Louiswould score 10 points during the rally, including a 3-pointer, withJasmine and Brian Lumar also popping in 3-pointers. Carl Gauthierfollowed by scrambling to the floor to grab a loose ball and tossing itdowncourt to Morris ahead of the defense.

Matherne and Jackson scored inside and Murla added a 3-pointer to bringthe Rebels to with 88-51 early in the fourth quarter. The Rams wouldcrack the century mark as Jonas Louis grabbed a rebound and passed toJamar Bailey downcourt. Bailey pulled up and drained a jumper in the lanewith 2:03 left on the clock.

Riverside coach John White said the Rams’ speed did his team in. The Ramsforced 31 turnovers in the game and beat the Rebels on the boards.”Speed kills,” White said. “It was just one of those games. But this gamewill help us down the road. We will not face too many teams with theirspeed. They are a good team.”Madere gave credit to the defense for the victory.

“The defense is starting to jell like we want it to,” Madere said. “Theboys played this game for Antoine. They dedicated it to him and wanted towin it for him and went out and got the victory.”

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