By GEORGE MAHL

Local prep basketball teams are focused on district schedules. Here is a mid-season update:

St. Charles Catholic

LAPLACE – With the senior leadership of Michael Bonura, the St. Charles Catholic Comets (8-11) have been playing well recently. After initially losing to St. Thomas Aquinas, SCC recently came back to destroy the Falcons 64-41.

“I am more pleased with that victory because we lost when they did not have their best player. He played in this game and we beat them pretty easily,” said SCC head coach Jeff Montz.

The momentum continued in the River Parish Shootout as the LaPlace school beat Riverside Academy 74-34. However, their momentum stalled when they played Northlake Christian and fell 64-49. SCC will return to action Jan. 28 at home against Donaldsonville (4-11).

East St. John

RESERVE – The East St. John Wildcats (11-12, 1-2 district) are a difficult team to figure out. First, ESJ won three straight games in convincing fashion to win the Riverside Holiday Tournament. Then, they won an up-tempo battle against St. James High School in the River Parish Shootout.

Most recently, however, they were destroyed by Hahnville 103-74 in the opening district game for both schools. Led by sophomore sensation Ryan Perrilloux, the Wildcats must be consistent if they are going to be competitive in a difficult District 6-5A race. The Wildcats travel Friday to play the Central Lafourche Trojans.

Reserve Christian School

RESERVE – They may be the smallest basketball-playing school in the River Parishes, but Reserve Christian (31-8) has beaten several big schools so far this season.

The Eagles feature a line-up led by freshman Demond “Tweety” Carter and seniors Chris McClain and Matt Jackson. Carter is averaging about 25 points per game. RCS has defeated Destrehan (twice), De La Salle, White Castle, and West St. John.

“We are at the top of our game,” said RCS head coach Timmy Byrd.

The trend continued this week as the Eagles escaped with a 77-75 victory over Ellender in Houma. Carter finished with 32 points. The win was the first time a road team won a game in the EHS gym in more than five years.

Riverside Academy

RESERVE – Second-year head coach Tommy Monier is experiencing some difficulty with his young team. With the exception of a good performance against French Settlement, the Rebels (7-12, 1-2 district) have struggled against St. James, Lutcher and St. Charles Catholic. Led by sophomore Josh Labiche and junior Ryan Griffen, RA recently got its first district win over St. Martin’s.

Unfortuanlty for RA, things didn’t get any easier for Monier’s team against rival West St. John. Labiche was held to 11 points in an 80-25 loss to the Rams. The Rebels return home Jan. 31 to take on St. Martin’s.

Hahnville High School

HAHNVILLE – Hahnville recently played in a tournament in Orlando, Fla. but the Tigers did not play any “Mickey Mouse” teams.

Having won more than 12 games this season, the Tigers are into the district schedule. Brett Naquin scored 19 points in their recent game with West St. John in the River Parish Shootout and Courntie McCoy had 36 points in a recent game against East St. John.

The Tigers continued their dominance of District 6-5A schools with a 57-37 victory over H.L. Bourgeois and a 20-point blow out against Destrehan. West St. John

EDGARD – The West St. John Rams (9-3, 3-0 district) should be feeling good about themselves.

The Rams, a Class 2A school, for the most part have played well against quality opposition. They forced overtime with Reserve Christian, then played well, but came up short in the River Parish Shootout against Hahnville, one of the top Class 5A schools.

The Rams possess a strong inside game led by forward Quinn Johnson and center Tyson Jackson. In addition, guard Josh Lumar has elevated his game over the last couple of weeks.

WSJ will have a road game against Redeemer-Seton on Friday night. The Rams recently notched their first district win of the season by defeating Fisher, 95-59.

Lutcher High School

LUTCHER – The Lutcher Bulldogs (12-6) have gotten off to a good start with their pre-district schedule.

Led by Gerard Landry, the Bulldogs will play Chalmette Friday at home. LHS opens district play Jan. 24 against E.D. White High School.

In the recent River Parish Shootout, the Bulldogs beat Dutchtown by 30 points. In addition, the Bulldogs got an impressive 62-45 non-district victory over Vandebilt.

Coach Mike McNamara’s club played well this week but lost against Hannan, 63-56. Lutcher will return home Jan. 28 against local rival St. James.

Destrehan High School

DESTREHAN – Coming off a lopsided loss to Reserve Christian in the River Parish Shootout, things did not look bright for DHS head coach Joe Schick and his players. They were about to play 18-1 Thibodaux in the district opener for both schools. However, the Fighting Wildcats (13-6, 2-1 district) came out scratching and went on to a 64-59 victory over the Tigers. DHS had four players (Chris Moore, Donald Pollard, Aaron Sylvain and Korey Raymond) score in double figures.

DHS returns home Jan. 28 against South Lafourche.

St. James High School

ST. JAMES – The St. James Wildcats appear to have a long way to go in order to achieve a successful season.

With a 2-13 record going into district, coach James Smith and the his club appear to be facing an uphill battle going into a competitive District 10-3A schedule.