LadyCats avenge Jamboree loss to Ponchatoula with 54-44 win

By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

There might be a gap in the size of enrollment between the biggest and smallest schools in St. John Parish, but you couldn’t see it by judging their basketball teams Tuesday night.

The defending Class C champion Reserve Christian Eagles pushed East St. John all the way until up to the final minute of play, but the Wildcats got their tenth victory in eleven games this season with a 64-57 win.

&#8220They came into it with a good game plan and they executed,” said ESJ coach Charles Julien of the opposing RCS squad. &#8220And they play bigger than other small schools.. They’ve got plenty of talent…. Eddren McCain might be the best guard in the state.”

The Eagles set a fast pace right out of the gate with a 11-5 run to start the first quarter. The Wildcats came on strong behind Trenton Marshall, who finished with a game high 20 points to close the second quarter and the Eagle lead, sending it into halftime tied at 32-32.

In the third period, the teams traded scores and some backcourt pressing led to fast-breaks and quite a few two-on-one situations for both squads. Reserve Christian’s Eddren McCain, who led the Eagles with 17 points, used a hustling effort to disrupt Wildcat ball handlers and weave through defenders, but RCS entered the fourth period trailing by a score of 47-43.

After that, it stayed tight and came right down to the final minutes of play in the fourth. The Eagles closed the gap to three points before ESJ was able to ice the game with free throws.

Jamaan Kenner contributed 14 points for the Wildcats while Geohandre Dorsey added ten. Joining McCain in double digits for the Eagles, Cedrick Jenkins got 14 and Damond Peters got 13.

The two teams are scheduled to meet again in a month when the Wildcats play host on January 23. In the meantime, ESJ begins a road trip this weekend and doesn’t return to the River Parishes until they take on West St. John in Edgard January 4. Their district schedule begins with a January 16 tilt against Hahnville.

&#8220We’ve got a good teams in this district,” Julien said of the Wildcat’s 5-5A rivals. &#8220Destrehan is strong this year. Hahnville too.”

&#8220But when it comes down to it, this is the team to beat,” he said of his team.

East St. John’s girl’s squad moved to 10-3 on the season Thursday night with a 52-46 win over Ponchatoula.

The win avenged a jamboree loss for the LadyCats, as they jumped ahead early in both the first and third quarters and held on in the fourth to take their tenth win of the season through 13 games.

The LadyCats opened

(See ESJ, Page 11A)

with a nine point run before Ponchy ever got on the board.