By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

BOUTTE — East St. John players celebrated as confused Hahnville players searched for answers at the conclusion of Tuesday’s district basketball game at Hahnville. Even for the often-wild Wildcats-Tigers rivalry, this ending was something different entirely.

East St. John held on for a dramatic District 8-5A 63-62 victory after clinching things officially on, of all things, a clock-operation error.

“I’ve never coached in a game like that,” mused East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine.

After a back-and-forth fourth quarter that saw Hahnville rally back from a 10-point deficit with six minutes left, East St. John point guard Kyle Patterson sank two free throws with 37 seconds left to put the Wildcats (15-6, 3-0) ahead 63-62.

On Hahnville’s ensuing possession, Patterson’s on-ball pressure forced a Tigers turnover. East St. John attempted to kill the clock, but Patterson was whistled for a travel with 7.3 seconds left.

Then things got really wacky. Hahnville inbounded the ball and Juwan Green missed a potential game-winning runner. There was a scramble for the loose ball, but its recovery was rendered moot when officials noticed the clock never started on the inbounds pass. The game’s lead official called the game after determining that time ran out.

“It was a good game. The clock guy might have gotten caught up watching the game. That’s what we were saying,” said Jasmine.

After some brief confusion on both sides, Patterson leapt in jubilation after the official’s final call became clear.

“I just looked at the ref to see what the call was. When he said it was game over, I jumped for joy,” said Patterson, who scored 13 to tie teammate Tre’Von Jasmine for a team-high. “This was just a great win.”

Hahnville coach Joe Schick said that his team ultimately has to shake off a tough break.

“We shot it, there was a skirmish … it looked like it would be a jump ball, and the (possession) arrow was going our way,” said Schick. “The official determined that time ran out. I don’t know how you can determine that, but we have to live with that.”

A notable quirk in the matter was that Hahnville’s usual clockkeeper was ejected in the boys JV game earlier that evening.

Edwin Winston scored 10 for East St. John, while Elex Carter scored nine points to go with 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Todge Scott paced Hahnville (10-13, 1-2) with 19 points. Green scored 12 and Jamal Smith scored 10.

Both teams battled foul trouble all night. Hahnville attempted 35 free throws while ESJ attempted 18; the Wildcats essentially started the second quarter in the double-bonus, entering the frame with nine team fouls.

“We started real sluggish,” said Patterson. “A lot of turnovers and fouls. We needed to play better.”

Added Yussef Jasmine, “There were a lot of fouls. We didn’t play like us tonight. Too many turnovers, too many offensive rebounds allowed. Hahnville played us tough, so credit to them. They obviously had something to do with how we played.”

Hahnville led by as many as 10 in the first half before taking a 30-26 lead into halftime.

The Tigers extended their lead to 38-28 early in the third quarter on Scott’s 3 from the wing, prompting a timeout from ESJ with five minutes left in the third.

That seemed to spark the Wildcats, as Patterson took over. He made a bucket off of an assist from Jasmine, then scored off of his own steal to make it 39-32. He slashed to the hoop and converted a layup off an inbounds pass, then stole the ensuing Hahnville inbounds pass and drew a foul. He made both free throws to make it 39-36, capping a personal run of eight straight ESJ points.

Israel Bell scored on an assist from Carter, then Carter sank two free throws to make it a 41-40 Hahnville lead. A Jasmine 3 brought the ESJ fans to their feet and gave ESJ a two-point lead — that came moments after his father, Yussef, called for a hesitant Jasmine to shoot on an earlier possession.

“He’s a scorer. And when you’re a scorer, you have to be hungry to shoot to a certain degree. He had passed up too many open looks,” said Yussef Jasmine.

It got the younger Jasmine rolling into the fourth quarter — a pair of consecutive runners in the lane put ESJ ahead 56-46 with 6:37 left. Green sparked Hahnville back into it with a 3 from the top of the circle, then a steal that led to a Smith layup to make it 56-51. Carter made a put back, but Timmy Roberts and Scott combined for the next seven HHS points to tie the game at 58. A Smith layup with 1:05 left gave HHS its first lead of the fourth.

From there, the teams jousted for position down the stretch, leading to a wild final flurry.

“I’ll tell my kids to hold their heads up,” said Schick. “I’m proud of them. I see them hurting, and I told them that’s a good thing. That means you care.”

The Wildcats have won six straight games and 10 of their last 12.

 “I think we have a championship team, but we didn’t play like one tonight,” said Yussef Jasmine. “I thought we might have been too amped up with the emotions and the crowd. We did fight through adversity. We talked about that prior to the game. I thought we responded in that area.”