It was a rough week all around for River Parishes basketball in district 5-5A this season.

The three largest local schools made a quick exit from the playoffs on the boys side this week as Destrehan, Hahnville and ESJ tumbled to north Louisiana competition from district 1-5A.

Destrehan’s loss was the biggest shocker as they fell to Airline, the same school that bounced ESJ’s girls team in the first round. DHS couldn’t take advantage of their home court advantage in this one either after capturing the number one seed in the district race after a playoff with ESJ.

Against Airline, Destrehan struggled throughout, though they did hold a lead at halftime. By the fourth quarter, it was a tied game and Airline tightened down their defense, allowing the Wildcats to score only four points in the final eight minutes for a 50-39 final.

Destrehan was led in the effort by Roosevelt Johnson’s 14 points. They finish the season with a 24-11 record as co-champions in 5-5A with ESJ.

Hahnville, meanwhile, had their hands full as the Tigers drew a road contest in West Monroe for the bi-district round after beating Ehret for third place in the district race.

HHS stayed competitive through the first quarter of play, but the West Monroe Rebels opened it up in the second quarter with a 23-14 run that sent them into halftime with a nine point lead.

West Monroe held on to that lead with defense in the second half, holding the Tigers offense to ten points in the third and fending off any thoughts of a rally in the fourth in the 66-46 win.

Hahnville ends their season with a 17-10 record and is also losing several major contributors on a squad that struggled to get a foothold in 5-5A all season long.

East St. John was also bounced by a north Louisiana team when Ruston came into the Wildcat gym last Friday as the third place team in district 1-5A. But the BearCats stunned ESJ early and fended off the quick strike Wildcat offense for a 70-67 win that ends East St. John’s season with a 27-10 overall record.