By Michael Kiral / L’Observateur / February 21, 1998

DESTREHAN – Destrehan got balanced scoring throughout its lineup in rolling to a 87-59 victory at home against Central Lafourche Tuesday night.

All but one member on the Wildcats’ roster scored at least two points.

Ryan Banquer led the way with 18 points. Kentrell Jenkins and David Greentossed in 13 points apiece, while Brett Simon contributed 10 points off the bench.

Central Lafourche was led by Darius Wyre with 20 points. TarrellSylvester added 13 points, while Darius Griffin contributed 10 points.

The game was the final home game for seniors Demond Richard, Jenkins, Banquer, Green and Khalfoni Doss. The five started the game and led theWildcats to an 8-0 lead. Banquer started the run by grabbing a steal andpassing to Jenkins. Jenkins then fed the ball to Richard who took it in forthe slam.

Green followed with a crisp pass to Banquer underneath and added a jump shot to increase the lead to six. Banquer added a put back, forcing theTrojans to call a timeout with 5:52 left in the quarter.

Central Lafourche rallied coming out of the break, tying the game at 10 on a free throw by Sylvester. Sylvester had started the run with a 3-pointerfrom the left corner.

After Rocky Walker chased down a loose ball in the backcourt to keep possession for Destrehan, Jenkins gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Banquer followed with a layupand Jenkins added another 3-pointer to give the Wildcats an 18-13 lead.

Green added a tip-in, giving the Wildcats a seven-point cushion after the first quarter of play.

Central Lafourche again rallied in the second quarter as Wyre drove the left baseline and was fouled, completing the three-point play to cut the deficit to 24-22. Two free throws by Brandon Shelby brought the Trojansto within one at the 2:06 mark.

Destrehan answered with 3-pointers by Simon and Green to build the lead back to five. With two seconds left in the half, Griffin launched a shotfrom the halfcourt line that swished through the net, cutting the deficit to 31-29 at the half.

The Wildcats began to pull away as the second half opened. Banquer leanedin for a jumper and Green added a layup to build the lead to 37-31. Jenkinsfollowed by twice finding Banquer under the basket, giving the Wildcats a 41-31 lead and forcing the Trojans to use a timeout with 5:41 left in the quarter.

After the timeout, Green grabbed a rebound and passed downcourt to Traun Smith for a dunk. A 3-pointer by Simon and a tip-in and two free throwsby Jeremy Parquet gave the Wildcats a 54-38 lead with 2:17 remaining.

It was showtime in the fourth quarter as Richard scooped in a layup to build the lead to 64-43. Russell Carlisle answered for the Trojans bypassing behind his back to Sylvester underneath, setting up a three-point play.

Destrehan countered as Jenkins grabbed a rebound and passed downcourt to Richard. Richard dribbled in, twisted in the air and dunked the ball over hishead. Later in the quarter, Johnny Richard tossed up an alley-oop to TravisGreen, who laid it in to give the Wildcats a 85-59 cushion.

“We played well,” Destrehan coach Mike McGuire said. “I thought everybodywas unselfish. We had real balance and I thought that was the key.”The Wildcats were 5-8 in District 6-5A and 13-14 overall going into their final game at cross-parish rival Hahnville Friday night. The Wildcats werein fifth place in the district behind South Lafourche, H.L. Bourgeois,Thibodaux and Terrebonne. McGuire said he knew going into the season thatthe Wildcats would have to upset one of those teams to get a playoff spot, but a loss at Central Lafourche and heart-breaking losses at home to Bourgeois and Thibodaux hurt Destrehan’s chances.

“The district was outstanding,” McGuire said. “It was a great district interms of top to bottom.”

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