MICHAEL KIRAL

PHOTO: HAHNVILLE’S HAROLD COMMINIE goes up strong for a layup against East St. John’s Louis Gardner in second half action Friday night.(Staff Photo by Michael Kiral) RESERVE – The last time Hahnville went into the East St. John gym during the 1999-2000 season, the Tigers were the victims of a upset in three overtimes. With the District 7-5A title on the line Friday night, Hahnville quickly made sure there would not be a repeat. The Tigers pulled away with a 17-2 run to end the first quarter on their way to a 77-36 victory, clinching their second straight District 7-5A title. Hahnville finished the regular season at 10-2 in district and 26-6 overall. East St. John finished at 2-10 in district play and 5-21 overall. Aaron Alexander led Hahnville with 18 points. Nick Cannon tossed in another 16 points. Those two combined to score the first 14 points of the game for the Tigers. Dawan Landry contributed another 14 points. Louis Gardner led East St. John with 17 points, 15 coming in the second half. Darwin Pittman added seven points, Ricky Johnson six and Rynelle Joseph five. Gardner, Pittman and Joseph were honored before the game on Senior Night. Hahnville was coming off a loss to South Lafourche at home Tuesday and was looking to bounce back early. “That was a hard loss for us,” Hahnville coach Alvin Gauthier. “We had a chance to wrap up the district title at home. But the mark of a good team is to be able to bounce back and win and this is a pretty good team.” Hahnville held East St. John to four field goals in the first half and six through the third quarter. “When we play defense and turn it up, we are impressive,” Gauthier said. East St. John jumped out on top with a 3-pointer by Johnson and took its final lead with just over five minutes to play in the first quarter on a jumper by Joseph. Cannon gave the Tigers the lead for good on a put back two possessions later. That was the start of a 10-0 run by Hahnville. Alexander scored on a put back and took two passes in and Cannon scored on a drive to make it 14-7. After a Johnson jumper from the right baseline, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter. Corey Woods started the run with a jumper from the top of the key. Landry converted a three-point play off a pass by Davon Mitchell and Mark Temple followed with a put back to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Hahnville kept up the pressure in the second quarter, taking a 28-8 lead midway through the quarter on a 3-pointer by Harold Comminie and a tap in by Temple. Joseph got the Wildcats back on the scoreboard with a jumper from the right side. But Hahnville came back with a 3-pointer by Cannon and a drive by Landry. Following a steal by Cannon, Woods hit Alexander inside off an inbounds pass, giving the Tigers a 41-13 halftime lead. Hahnville opened the third quarter on a 14-0 run. Landry scored off a pass by Laron Landry and Comminie followed by taking a steal in to make it 51-13 with 5:59 in the third quarter. Woods added a layup after Laron Landry hit the floor for a rebound and Temple added a jumper in the paint to make it 55-13 with 4:45 left. Gardner got the Wildcats to within 57-21 with 1:54 with two free throws and a drive down the lane. But Laron Landry came back with a layup off a pass by Al Mott, then found Temple inside on an inbounds pass to make it 61-21 going into the fourth quarter. Jumpers by Pittman and Gardner made it a 65-31 game with under five minutes to play. Woods then fed Alexander for a dunk and Cannon took a rebound the length of the court for another slam to make it 72-31 with just over two minutes left to play.