MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / December 27, 2000

BOUTTE – Aaron Alexander scored 10 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter as Hahnville held off a late St. Amant charge for a 53-44victory Friday night.

Nick Cannon added 11 points for the Tigers while Dawan Landry contributed 10 points.

David Neal had a game-high 24 points for St. Amant. Jeffery Claiborne wasthe other Gator in double figures with 10 points.

Hahnville held St. Amant to 17 points in the first half and took a 39-26 leadinto the fourth quarter. That lead grew to 45-30 with 4:55 remaining in thegame on a put back by Cannon and a jumper in the paint by Alexander.

Neal started the comeback on the Gators’ next possession with a jumper in the lane. Following a free throw by Claiborne, Andrew Bradley found Nealunderneath to cut the deficit to 10. Neal would score inside on passes byMike Thomas and Todd Trabeaux on the next two possessions to make it 45- 39 with 3:08 remaining.

Hahnville responded on its next trip down the court following a St. Amanttimeout as Alexander banked in a turnaround jumper.

Two more jumpers by Alexander built the lead back to 51-39 before Neal drove in from the left with 1:02 left. A 3-pointer by Claiborne cut the deficitback to seven with 53 seconds left but Alexander hit two free throws down the stretch to preserve the lead.

St. Amant took a 6-5 lead on a Neal drive with 2:31 left in the game. Athree-point play by Landry off a drive down the lane gave the Tigers the lead for good at 8-6. St. Amant pulled to within one on two free throws byBradley but Landry scored on a put back with two seconds left to give the Tigers a 12-9 lead.

Cannon found Alexander inside, then scored on a put back and a drive to build the lead to 18-9 early in the second quarter. Thomas hooked in a shot andClaiborne scored off a pass inside by Charles Jones to make it a 20-15 game.

But Landry came back with another three-point play to make it 23-15 with 1:56 left. Mark Temple followed with a layup off a rebound by Cannon to givethe Tigers a 25-17 lead at the half.

Hahnville did not score until 5:21 left in the third quarter on a layup by Alexander. The Tigers then took a 32-20 lead behind two free throws byCannon and a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Alexander.

Hahnville kept it up from the outside as Davon Mitchell and Alexander buried jumpers from the right side and Al Mott nailed a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 39-24. Neal scored on a pass inside from Seth Babin with 10seconds left to make it 39-26 heading into the fourth quarter.

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