By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

East St. John faced a rough road stretch over the holidays, dropping their third and fourth games of the season, but returned to their winning ways last week with victories over Denham Springs and South Lafourche.

It was a late start in a game just before Christmas for ESJ that gave them their fourth loss on the year, as the Wildcats fell behind in the first quarter against Terrebonne. Trailing 19-5 going into the second period of play, the Wildcats warmed up in the second quarter and turned up the heat on defense in the second half, where they allowed just 18 points.

East St. John closed the gap to seven points entering the final quarter, where they went on a 13-8 run to push Terrebonne in the waning moments. But the offensive spark was just barely not enough as the Wildcats fell 52-51.

Trenton Marshall and Jamaan Kenner shared as game-high scorers with 16 points while Brandon Neal added eight.

A quick turnaround had the ESJ squad back on the court late last week for games against Denham Springs and South Lafourche, which they won by scores of 70-66 and 63-43 respectively.

The losses for East St. John were their first on the road this season. Their only other two losses came at home against Washington-Marion and Helen Cox, both of which they lost by six points.