By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

Five Wildcats hit double figures Tuesday night in a 79-48 win for St. James as they defeated Pickering in the bi-district round, advancing them into the Class 2A quarter-finals where they host Madison, the Class 2A defending state champions.

There was little question as to who would advance once this game got started, as the Wildcats jumped out to a 15 point lead through the first quarter of play. They built on that lead in every quarter after that behind Charles Geason’s team-high 19 points. If there was any doubt, St. James put it to rest in the third period, where they stretched their lead from 18 points to 28. From there, the Wildcats kept the scoring down on defense and took the win.

Geason was joined in double digits by Craig Duronselet, who scored 14, Jordan Landry, with 12, Jared Byers, with 11 and Lutcher Ambrose with ten.

St. James goes to 25-6 on their season record with the victory going into their quarter-finals match-up. Last year, the Wildcats ended their season in this round when Ville Platte sank a half-court buzzer-beater to oust St. James. This year, the Wildcats are hoping to make their first appearance in the state tournament since 2002 when they lost in the 3A semi-finals to Carroll.