By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

St. Charles led at halftime over the No. 8 ranked team in Class 3A, but Holy Cross took advantage of a rash of SCC turnovers in the third quarter to take control in a 55-42 victory in New Orleans.

It was the second home game for Holy Cross in their new basketball gym.

“Our defense created our offense,” said Holy Cross coach Juan Lumas. “We didn’t play very well defensively to begin the game, but in the second half we came out and played like we’re supposed to.”

The Comets led 21-20 at halftime but the Tigers immediately took the lead on a shot by Eugene Laurence. Over the next four possessions, SCC’s John Williams and Holy Cross’ Wesley Pineau traded bucket, giving the Tigers a 26-25 lead.

But the Holy Cross (14-7) defense started to force some St. Charles mistakes. Off of a Comets turnover, Derrin James scored and drew a foul for a 3-point play, making it 29-25. Another SCC turnover resulted in a Chris Kennie bucket with 5:12 left in the third quarter.

With the score 32-27, St. Charles called timeout, but it couldn’t stem the Tiger tide. Kennie hit a jumper and Trey Hooper made a putback to push the HC lead to 9. Another St. Charles (10-10) turnover led to a teardrop by Nick Guidry, making it 38-27.

“Those third quarter turnovers … we made a lot of mistakes,” said St. Charles coach Chris Perrone. “They didn’t go full bore with the pressure, they just picked us up full court. We had a lot of unforced turnovers, but they also did a good job holding us to some bad shots.

“You talk about three or four bad possessions like that, then you’re talking about a 12-point game.”

Williams finally broke Holy Cross’ 14-2 run with a bucket to cut the lead to nine entering the fourth quarter.

But the Tigers’ Jordan Brookter scored a quick 5-points to begin the fourth quarter, his 3 making it 43-29.

St. Charles fell behind by as many as 15 but went on a quick 8-2 run late to make it 50-41. But SCC would get no closer.

St. Charles led throughout the first half, albeit by a small margin. It led 14-12 after a quarter on a Williams’ layup late in the period. A pair of baskets by Aaron Hampton and a jumper by Jesse Coleman in a low-scoring second quarter helped the Comets maintain a halftime lead.

“In the first half, maybe we played a bit over our heads and made some shots we normally wouldn’t. But I thought we did a good job of sticking to what we do,” said Perrone. “We just need to make better decisions when district comes around.

“(Holy Cross is) a top team in Class 3A and they shot it well tonight,” said Perrone. “That’s what they are. Just a real solid, good basketball team that makes shots and defends.”

LUSHER 59, ST. CHARLES 58 – Lusher’s Gilbert McGregor hit a game winning shot to punctuate his 20-point night as Lusher edged St. Charles in LaPlace, 59-58.

Williams scored 17 to lead SCC. Trent Dunn scored 15. Coleman scored 10 and Harley Scioneaux added nine.

Lusher erased a six-point Comets lead late in the contest. SCC shot 60-percent from 3-point range in the game.

“We missed six free throws and lost by one,” said Perrone. “You can’t do it against playoff caliber teams.”