By GEORGE MAHL Sports Editor

LUTCHER – It seemed like everytime the Lutcher Bulldogs would come close, East St. John’s Ryan Perrilloux would have an answer. Perrilloux’s 37-point effort lifted the Wildcats to an 84-75 non-district victory over Lutcher.

“Ryan was big tonight, but playing as a team was bigger,” said East St. John Head Basketball Coach Charles Julien.

On two critical occasions in the fourth quarter, Perrilloux stepped up for the Wildcats. With the Bulldogs within six, 67-61, Perrilloux scored four consecutive points to give East St. John a 71-61 lead with 6:38 left to play.

With 3:17 to play and Lutcher again within six points, Perrilloux sank two fouls shots, giving the Wildcats a 77-68 lead.

In addition, a nine point lead would be the closest the Bulldogs would come for the remainder of the game.

With Lutcher leading 9-8 with 4:32 remaining in the first quarter, East St. John scored six of the next seven points to cut give themselves a 14-10 lead with 3;38 left in the first quarter. The highlight was a 3-pointer from Ryan Stipe to give the Wildcats a four point lead.

However, the Bulldogs would come right back and go on a run of their own. A 6-0 run by Lutcher gave them its first lead since 2-0. Gerard Landry, who finished with 26 points, nailed a basket to give the Bulldogs a 16-14 lead.

Perrilloux would step up again for the Wildcats. A 16-14 Lutcher lead quickly became a 26-18 ESJ lead. Perrilloux caught fire and scored 10 of the next 12 points, including two three-point buckets, for the Wildcats.

Lutcher freshman Trenton Marshall made a slam dunk to cut the Bulldog deficit to 26-20 at the end of the first half.

The East St. John lead never got fewer than six points in the second quarter.

Throughout the third quarter, Landry and Marshall were largely responsible for the Bulldogs points. In addition, during a two-minute stretch Marshall scored eight consecutive Lutcher points.

Going into the fourth quarter, East St. John held a comfortable 67-57 lead.

One of the bigger differences in the game was at the foul line. Lutcher made only 9-of-18 in the first half, while East St. John was 20-of-27 for the game.

“I think our experience was the difference tonight,” said Julien. “They are a young team, but a good team. I thought our guys just stepped up out there.”