MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / January 4, 1999

RESERVE – Donriel Louis’ two free throws with 11 seconds left capped off an eight-point comeback by West St. John in the final 4:27 as the Ramswon the Riverside Tournament championship with a 64-62 victory over Christian Life Wednesday night.

Louis, the tournament’s most valuable player, had 16 points for the Rams (8-2). Elijah Jasmin added 15 points while Brian Lumar, an all-tournamentselection, contributed 14 points.

Christian Life (19-3) was led by Michael Clayton with 23 points, including four 3-pointers. Raymond Mason also had four 3-pointers among his 14points. The Crusaders finished with 10 3’s in the contest.But it was a 3-pointer by Lumar from the right side that tied the game at 62 with 16 seconds left. Louis then stole the inbounds pass and was fouledunder the basket. After a timeout by Christian Life, Louis stepped to theline and hit both free throws with both hitting the front rim before bouncing in.

Christian Life had one last opportunity but Lumar stepped in front of a pass at midcourt and the Rams ran out the rest of the clock.

The Crusaders looked to be in control midway through the final quarter, taking a 53-45 lead with 4:27 left on a layup by Terrell Browden off a pass from Clayton. After a timeout by the Rams, Marlon Jackson drove in,stopped and popped in a jumper while being foul. Jackson hit the foul shot,cutting the deficit to five.

Jasmin hit two foul shots on the Rams’ next trip down the court. Jacksonthen grabbed a defensive rebound, quickly passed the ball to midcourt to Louis who found Lumar cutting to the basket. Christian Life used a timeoutwith the score 53-52 with 3:36 left.

West St. John took the lead on a 3-pointer by Lumar from the right cornertwo possessions later but Christian Life regained it with a three-point play by Browden. Jasmin juked inside to get the lead back for the Rams butClayton was fouled on the ensuing possession while trying a 3-pointer and made two of the three shots to make it 58-57 with 2:18 remaining.

Louis tied the game with a free throw before Christian Life went ahead by two as Aaron Altalan found Browden driving the right baseline. Jasmin cutthe deficit to one with a free throw two possessions later but Mason answered with two of his own, giving the Crusaders a 62-59 lead with 31 seconds left on the clock.

“Down by eight, they didn’t quit,” West St. John coach Antoine Edwardssaid of his team. “They regrouped on the floor and did what they had to do.We had drive and determination there tonight.”Edwards said the tournament was the first in a long time for the Rams as far as he could recall.

West St. John took an early 9-5 lead on a jumper by Jeremy Lumar butChristian Life came back with a 3-pointer by Joseph Fisha to lead 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The Crusaders increased the lead to 19-13 on a layup by Stefan Lefors early in the second quarter before the Rams rallied with a 9-0 run. Louistied the game with a steal, taking it in with a two-handed slam and followed with a put back to put the Rams ahead.

After Christian Life tied the game at 22 on a 3-pointer by Fisha, jump shots by Louis and Brian Lumar helped the Rams to a 29-25 lead at the break.

West St. John took a 33-27 lead in the third quarter on a jumper in thelane by Louis. Pendarvis Morris made it 36-31 on a jumper after anoffensive rebound. Christian Life closed to within 38-37 as Clayton wasfouled while making a 3-pointer from the right side. Clayton made the freethrow to complete the four-point play. After a jump shot by Lumar, 3-pointers by Mason and Clayton gave the Crusaders a 43-41 lead at the end of the third quarter.

That lead grew to eight with six minutes left after Clayton finished off a three-point play after a dunk. Louis followed with a dunk of his own aftera steal by Jasmin to make it 51-45 with five minutes left.

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