He scores 20 in first game back from leg injury

By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

After losing two consecutive games in the C.Y.O. Basketball Classic last week, Reserve Christian needed a lift as it prepared to take on in-parish rival East St. John.

The Eagles got that lift with the return of All-State forward Cedric Jenkins – and then some.

Jenkins led all scorers with 20 points as the Eagles defeated the Wildcats, 72-45 at Reserve Christian on Tuesday night.

“We just fed off the energy of the crowd,” said Jenkins. “It made me want to keep pushing it.”

Said Reserve Christian Coach Timmy Byrd: “He wasn’t All-State for nothing. The kids came out focused tonight.”

Reserve Christian (15-4) led 12-8 early in the second quarter when a Jenkins three-pointer kick started a 16-2 run that propelled the Eagles to a 28-10 lead.

Eddren McCain followed Jenkins’ shot with a three pointer of his own. After East St. John’s Malcom Lago answered with a basket, Jenkins hit another three-pointer to make it 21-10. Jenkins, McCain, Lucas Martin and Chris Roussell each scored in the remainder of the run to stretch the lead to 18. The Eagles led 32-14 at halftime.

“We didn’t protect the ball,” said East St. John Coach Yussef Jasmine. “We turned it over far too many times.”

Said Wildcats’ power forward David Hampton: “They were beating us on fast breaks. We have to do a better job of running back on defense.”

East St. John (5-4) cut the lead to 13, 34-21 after Hampton, Lago and Jamaan Kenner each scored baskets early in the third quarter.

But baskets by McCain, Roussell and Martin upped the lead to 41-23,and East St. John got no closer.

McCain scored 15 in the contest. Roussell added 14, and Martin 12.

Hampton led the Wildcats with 13 points. Lago scored eight, and Kenner seven.

It was a big win in a number of ways for Martin, an eighth-grader who earned the start on Tuesday. Martin’s father is Charles Julien, the Wildcats’ former basketball coach.

“I really wanted to win this one,” Martin said. “It was really a team effort. After we lost those two games, Coach talked to us for hours to get us ready again. We have to keep this up.”