By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur
DESTREHAN — There was a wrench thrown into the works of East St. John’s plans to defeat rival Destrehan Friday night and move to 2-0 in District 8-5A. Specifically: what was supposed to be a ESJ home game was moved to Destrehan at the 11th hour after rainwater began leaking into the gym at Leon Godchaux Jr. High.
It never phased East St. John, though. Clearly.
ESJ outscored Destrehan 21-4 in the first quarter en route to a decisive 61-40 victory, moving ESJ to 14-6 overall this season.
“To be honest, I didn’t think (the venue change) affected us at all,” said East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine. “I’ve always preached to them that it isn’t about playing at home or away. We have to be a team that is ready to play any time, anywhere, under any circumstances.
“Fighting through adversity is a big thing for us, be it adversity caused by the other team, or our own unforced mistakes. Guys have the mentality now that, ‘This is just another challenge to overcome.’ So to this group, I don’t think it even matters where they play. They’re going to be ready.”
Edwin Winston scored 18 to lead ESJ (14-6), while Tre’Von Jasmine added 15. The two got their points in extremely efficient fashion, shooting a combined 14-for-15 from the field.
Gary Johnson and Keigan Joseph each scored seven to lead Destrehan.
Yussef Jasmine said that the Wildcats’ defensive effort and ability to score in transition was the biggest factor in building its early lead. ESJ led 19-0 at one point.
“Destrehan got some pretty solid looks early, but they just didn’t go down,” said Jasmine. “And anytime a team takes quick shots against us, we feel like it’s to our advantage. We were able to rebound, get on the break and score before they had a chance to set their defense.”
While the coach obviously would like to see his team get off to a quick start in any game, he said doing so against Destrehan (7-13) was even more important than usual.
“Even though guys are maturing, a packed gym and a rivalry game like that creates an atmosphere that a lot of our guys haven’t played in,” said Jasmine. “We’ve got a lot of freshman and sophomores that we rely on.
“When you start fast, it relaxes everyone. If it were a rocky start, then nerves begin to come into play.”