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EDGARD — Last week’s match-up between West St. John and Delta Charter ended in a 64-57 victory for the Rams, but head coach Alton Joseph said the game was too close for comfort.

The win brought the No. 12 Rams to the regional round of the Class 1A boys basketball playoffs to face No. 5 Oak Grove.

West St. John hosted the bi-district round against the No. 21 Delta Charter Storm. The Rams came out sluggish after having a week off between games and escaped the first quarter with a narrow lead.

West St. John picked it up in the second quarter and turned the defensive pressure to the max. By halftime, the Rams had secured a 10-point lead. That started to fade in the first four minutes of the third quarter, however, as the Storm went on a run and nearly evened the score. The Rams regained control in the latter half of the third quarter and went into the fourth with an eight-point lead.

Delta Charter commanded the court with a vengeance in the fourth and added several points. If it weren’t for Tyray Bartholomew and Zyron Wilson making some key plays in the fourth to end the game 64-57, the Rams’ playoff run could have ended prematurely.

“I didn’t think we played up to our potential at all,” Joseph said. “I told them after the game that I’m glad we got the bad game out of the way, and now we can move on. We’ve been playing much better all year.”

To move forward, Joseph said the Rams must bring the heat from start to finish.

“We can’t pick quarters to play well,” Joseph said. “We need to get our rebounding up to par because we did a terrible job.”

Freshman guard Tyray Bartholomew led in scoring with 16 points. Joseph said Bartholomew has been a standout player all season, along with senior Robert Singleton.

Early this week, West St. John was preparing to take on Oak Grove in northeastern Louisiana. The Rams had their work cut out of them, as Oak Grove is known for its athletic front court. The Fightin’ Tigers boast tall players and a standout guard.

“We match well with them,” Joseph said. “They are a football school competing on a basketball court.”

The winner advances to the quarterfinals to play the winner of Elton and Tensas.