By RYAN ARENA
Sports Editor

A slow start doomed St. Charles’ effort at Plaquemine on Friday night, as the Green Devils held the Comets to seven first half points en route to a 43-27 win in a District 9-3A game.

The loss meant that St. Charles fell into a third place tie with Lutcher, which was to be settled last night in a district playoff game at East St. John.

A win for either would leave their hopes alive for a wildcard playoff spot.

Plaquemine (25-10, 6-2), the seventh ranked team in Class 3A, is headed to the postseason as the second seed in 9-3A, behind first place Port Allen (8-0 in 9-3A).

Daryl Lewis led the Green Devils with 16 points.

Vincent Rollo led the Comets (16-16, 3-5) with 16 of his own. DeMarcus Bernard scored eight.

“We came out really flat. We didn’t play with the energy or focus we needed to, and it showed,” said St. Charles coach Jonathan Hernandez. “Plaquemine did a great job defensively, and took away everything we wanted to do.

“But this one came down to effort. They played harder than we did.”

Plaquemine led 19-7 at halftime. St. Charles rebounded in the third quarter, outscoring the Green Devils 14-12 in the period. But in the fourth quarter, the Plaquemine defense stepped up one more time, holding the Comets to six.

Much like in the previous meeting between the teams, a 42-39 Green Devil win at SCC, St. Charles looked to slow the pace to the game and generate good shots from its haflcourt set.

But this time, Plaquemine forced the issue.

“They took us out of our game plan,” Hernandez said. “They forced some turnovers and scored on their fast breaks. We got out of our plan and it made it difficult on us.”

Hernandez said that even on a good night, it takes a phenomenal effort for a team to win there.

“To beat a team like that, you have to play almost a near perfect game to have a shot,” he said. “They have a great gym with a great atmosphere. You’re going in hoping to steal one on the road.”