By RYAN ARENA
L’Observateur

RESERVE — East St. John bounced back from back-to-back district losses to capture a 69-46 victory over H.L. Bourgeois Friday night.

Troy Green scored 19 points to lead ESJ, which is tied in the loss column  with Central Lafourche for first place in District 7-5A.

Tre’Von Jasmine scored 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists, while Anthony Steer added eight points for ESJ (19-9, 8-2).  

H.L. Bourgeois dropped to 12-14 overall and 3-7 in district play.

The Wildcats faced Central Lafourche for the second time this season on Feb. 3 and fell in a tight game, 65-61, in Reserve.

Lionel Batiste scored 24 to lead the Trojans (21-5, 9-2). Anfernee Pondexter added 16.

It was only the second home loss of the season for ESJ, the first coming to Riverside Jan. 5.

East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine said it was a tough game physically on his players, who had just faced Riverside at Riverside the night before.

“The one thing you always know about Central Lafourche is they play really, really physical,” Jasmine said. “We played a very physical game the night before. It was probably not the best scheduling on my part to put our guys in that situation. Central had a good plan. They took away Tre, and in a back-to-back situation like that, challenging other guys to make shots consistently is usually a good idea.”

Jasmine said that conversely, the H.L. Bourgeois game was a strong answer to adversity from his players.

“After we lost at Destrehan, we had to go on the road to South Lafourche and show we could play in that tough environment,” Yussef Jasmine said. “This was similar. In this case, Central reminded us we need to step up every single night. We’ve got a target on our backs right now.”

He was pleased with the balance his team showed.

“We had nine guys score in double figures,” he said. “With Tre playing the point, he’s realizing teams are trying to take him away as a scorer. He’s been playing a complete game, getting guys involved, and when he plays complete, it makes us complete.”