MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / December 16, 2000

EDGARD – Tuesday night’s clash of titans between Reserve Christian and West St. John came down to a crash underneath the boards.Paul Labiche was fouled driving along the baseline with 1.5 seconds left,hitting both free throws to give the Eagles a 58-56 victory in the non- district matchup of two teams who advanced to the Top 28 Tournament last year.

Reserve Christian improved to 15-9 on the season while the defending Class 2A state champion Rams fell to 2-1.

Labiche finished with a 18 points and 10 rebounds. Matt McGee added 16points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Both were playing throughassortment of injuries.

“This was a character win,” Reserve Christian coach Timmy Byrd said.

“The two big guys showed heart and character. They showed how good theywere. We’ve been waiting to have them to play together. I couldn’t beprouder of them. The whole team showed a lot of guts and character. Theystayed in there and fought and beat a real good team in West St. John. It’shard to win here. We’re proud of our boys.”Demond Carter contributed nine points for the Eagles while Demarcus Branch had four assists.

Dwayne Bastain had a game-high 19 points for the Rams. Devin Herbertcontributed 14 points while Aaron Sylvain added eight.

“Without a doubt, it was a good game,” West St. John coach AntoineEdwards said. “The kids played tonight with a lot of dedication andcourage. We played hard and the kids showed me one thing – we cancompete. It built our confidence up.”West St. John had rallied from a five point deficit with three minutes leftto tie the game at 56 on a drive down the lane by Brian Wright with 40 seconds left. Following a Reserve Christian timeout, Kermit Bethancourtgrabbed a steal near midcourt with 22 seconds left.

But the Rams couldn’t convert with Branch grabbing the rebound. Labichegot the ball on the left side and drove in along the baseline before being fouled under the basket. His first free throw rolled around before fallingin. The second swished through, making it a two-point game.West St. John had one last chance but the inbounds pass went out ofbounds under the Rams’ basket, giving the Eagles the ball with a second left.

Reserve Christian took a 54-49 lead with three minutes left as McGee took a pass from Branch and drove down the lane. The Rams rallied to tiethe game at 54 with 1:54 left behind a 3-pointer by Herbert and a layup by Bastain. The Eagles regained the lead at 56-54 with 1:02 left on a drive byMcGee from the right side.

A drive by Herbert from the right gave West St. John a 46-44 lead early inthe fourth quarter. Branch would grab an offensive rebound and pass toLabiche under the basket to give the Eagles a 48-47 lead with five minutes left.

Reserve Christian took a 32-25 lead into the half. The Rams then used an8-0 run to take the lead early in the third quarter. Sylvain scored the firstsix points on two drives and a jumper and Bastain added two free throws to make it 33-32 with 6:04 left in the quarter.

After an exchange of baskets, West St. John grabbed a 41-37 lead on apass from Davin Farnell to Herbert with 3:50 left. The Eagles rallied to tiethe game at 44 at the end of the quarter as Labiche buried a jumper and Carter took a pass from Chris McClain in.

Both teams started off on hot streaks with Farnell tapping in a miss by Herbert to make it 13-10. McClain answered on the Eagles’ nextpossession with a 3-pointer from the left side. The Eagles took a 17-15lead on a put back by Labiche before Herbert tied it again at 17 with a drive at the end of the quarter.

A jumper by Bastain tied the game at 23 with 3:45 left in the half. TheEagles then went on a 9-2 run to close out the half. McClain got the runstarted with a 3-pointer from the left wing and Branch added another from the right wing to make it 29-23. A pass from McClain to MarlonBrumfield helped build the lead to 32-25 at the half.

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