By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

DESTREHAN — Destrehan forward David Green said his team simply fed off the energy of a raucous home crowd down the stretch of Tuesday’s district matchup with East St. John, while ESJ coach Yussef Jasmine said his team didn’t arrive ready for it.

Green scored eight of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, including an inside bucket that kickstarted a key 7-2 run, to lead Destrehan, which became the first District 7-5A team to defeat East St. John this season.

“It came down to adrenaline,” Green said. “It was flowing. We kept feeding off the energy of the crowd. They were into it, and we held onto it through the stretch run.”

Jasmine said he warned his team to be ready for a playoff-like atmosphere for the game, which pitted rivals with district championship aspirations against one another.

“Small gym, big crowd,” Jasmine said. “It’s going to feel like 1,600 people are packed in there. You can’t prepare like this game is going to be in an empty gym. We didn’t have the proper defensive focus, at all, (Tuesday).”

Clifton Adams scored 14 points and Trey Jones added 10 for Destrehan (16-7, 5-2).

For East St. John (17-7, 6-1), Troy Green scored 20 to lead the way. Tre’Von Jasmine and Kendall Jackson each scored eight.

Whistles were few and far in-between early in the game, and the teams seemed to adjust to the physical leeway each was allowed as the game went on. The teams were tied at 19 at halftime, and some suffocating Destrehan defense to begin the third quarter held ESJ to just four points in the first four minutes of the second half.

“We wanted to keep Troy (Green) from penetrating and keep Tre (Jasmine) from hitting big shots,” David Green said.

DHS used that time to create some breathing room, Jones and David Green combining to score Destrehan’s first 10 points of the period to take a 29-23 advantage.

East St. John wouldn’t let things get out of hand, though, and pushed back. Anthony Steer took a pass and threw down a two-handed jam that cut Destrehan’s lead to 35-33. Following that play, DHS was whistled for a technical foul, and East St. John seemed to grab the momentum, going up 39-36 on a deep wing 3 by Kendall Jackson just as time expired in the third quarter.

“I was a little worried they’d pull away there,” David Green said. “But we were able to turn it.”

But just as Destrehan began the third quarter hot, it made an even bigger push to start the fourth, retaking the lead, 40-39, on an Adams pull-up jumper. Troy Green put ESJ back ahead with a layup inside, but it was the only basket in another early quarter dry spell; DHS scored the next five points, David Green accounting for all of them, and ESJ was whistled for a technical foul. DHS led 46-41 with 3:30 left to play.

A Troy Green follow resulted in a basket and free throw, cutting DHS’ lead to two. Jasmine sank a 3 with 3:06 left to tie things up at 47.

David Green came up with a big answer, scoring in the low post to give Destrehan the lead again. DHS forced a turnover, and Adams drew a foul and sank two free throws. After another stop, Adams drew another foul — after a Steer chase down block saved a transition bucket — and Adams made one of two again to make it 52-49.

Baskets by Steer and Troy Green kept ESJ afloat, but it never came closer than two from there. Destrehan led by as many as six, and one last ESJ charge—a Jasmine putback made it 58-56 with 9.5 seconds left — fell flat when Destrehan’s Lionel Maxon made two free throws to ice the game.

Destrehan coach Todd Bourg said foul shooting — DHS hit 17 of 19 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter and 22 of 25 in the second half — and taking care of the basketball were hallmarks of the win.

“We’re one of the smallest teams around,” Bourg said. “Those are the things we absolutely have to do to win. We didn’t turn it over much at all tonight. Those things add up and can make a huge difference, and they did (Tuesday).”