By RYAN ARENA

Sports Editor

With 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter at Destrehan, East St. John seemed to be on the ropes.

Its nine point fourth quarter lead had dwindled to two, and its offense had become plagued by turnovers and cold shooting. The jam-packed Destrehan crowd was rocking for a game its team desperately needed for its playoff hopes. Finally, DHS leading scorer Roosevelt Johnson was heating up.

But despite all of that, East St. John couldn’t have been more comfortable.

Kalen Henderson came up with two crucial defensive steals and hit two foul shots to clinch the win for ESJ as it emerged with a 57-53 victory at Destrehan to remain in first place in District 6-5A.

“I told them in the timeout that the best part of our game is our defense,” said East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine. “So we don’t mind having to go out and stop them to win a game. We’ve done it before.”

Henderson’s first steal came with 12 seconds left, and he hit one-of-two free throws after drawing a foul. Destrehan’s last gasp came to an end when Malcom Lago deflected a pass to Henderson, who secured the ball, went to the foul line, and hit the final clinching free throw with four seconds left.

He said his objective was clear in the closing moments.

“My main focus was to keep the ball out of (Johnson’s) hands,” said Henderson. “We know he’s their best scorer. We did that, and we won the game.”

Kaylon Placide led ESJ (16-14, 6-2) with 15 points. Lago scored 11, and Henderson scored eight.

B.J. Singleton led Destrehan (11-15, 3-5) with 12 points. Johnson scored 11. Kevin Smothers and Wynrick Smothers each scored 10.

The win left East St. John one game ahead of second place Hahnville  and St. Amant.

The teams played evenly until midway through the second quarter. But with Johnson on the bench with foul trouble for the entire second quarter, ESJ took advantage.  A 25-23 ESJ lead climbed to 39-27 at halftime after it finished the second quarter on a 14-4 run.

That lead grew to as many as 14 in the second half.

ESJ led 50-41 early in the fourth quarter, but Destrehan still had a last stand. Wynrick Smothers and Kevin Smothers scored four quick points from the line to fuel a 6-0 DHS run that cut the ESJ lead to 50-47.

A turnaround jumper by ESJ forward Anthony Dawson held back the tide momentarily, but DHS kept pushing.

A reverse layup by Johnson with 2:39 left made it a 53-50 ESJ lead. His foul-shot with 1:27 left made it a two-point game, 53-51.

DHS seemed primed to take the lead after a miscommunication between ESJ players led to a turnover. But a deflected pass popped the ball into the air on the ensuing DHS possession, and LaBaron Sylvester came up with it and fed the ball to Malcom Lago, who streaked down the court for a layup with 1:01 left.

Johnson drew a foul, but missed both shots at the line. Destrehan gathered in the rebound off the miss, though, and Kevin Smothers converted on a put back to score with 38 seconds left, setting up the game’s frantic final sequence before the frenzied crowd.

Listening to ESJ center Kelth Cameron, he may have heard none of it.

“We just don’t let it get in our heads,” said Cameron, who had 12 rebounds and blocked seven shots. “There’s always a big crowd at Hahnville, and there’s always a big crowd here. We just block it out.”

And as always with the two teams, it meant more than just a win in the standings to the victors.

“It always feels good to beat your local rival,” said Henderson.