By GEORGE MAHL – Sports Editor

RESERVE – Two teams who were struggling in 6-5A play met Friday night in Reserve. With less than two minutes to play, East St. John led H.L. Bourgeois 63-61. A quick lay-up by HLB guard Coby Rainey tied the score 63-63 with less than one minute remaining. ESJ’s Willie Lago then missed the front end of a one-and-one. After a Braves timeout, Kendric Jacobs made a layup to give the Braves the 65-63 victory.

HLB improved to 5-9 in district (14-15 overall), while East St. John fell to 6-8 in district (18-16 overall).

Wildcats starter Ricardo Porter led ESJ with 22 points, including making six three-point shots.The Braves had three players score in double figures. Jacobs finished with 22 points, Darrell Woods finished with 19 points, and Casey Butler finished with 12 points.

The first quarter belonged to Butler. His nine points were largely responsible for the Braves holding a 19-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. In addition, over the span of about two minutes Butler scored all of the Braves points.

The Braves held the lead in the second quarter until about four minutes remaining. Trailing 25-23, Porter hit his first 3-pointer to give the Wildcats its first lead of the game since early in the first quarter.

During the next three minutes, the Wildcats were outscored 9-5. However, during the final two minutes of the half East St. John went on a 7-0 run to tie the game 35-35 at halftime.

The Wildcats grabbed their third lead of the game with 3:34 remaining in the third quarter. A jumper by Ryan Stipe gave ESJ a 43-41 lead. The lead would be short lived as the Braves came right back and tied at after a Jacobs dunk.

The lead changed several times during the final two minutes of the third quarter. Each team had the lead on three different occasions.

With the score tied 48-48, the Braves made two quick baskets to give themself a 52-48 lead with 42 seconds left. After a Porter made another 3-point basket, Jacobs came back and hit a jumper to reclaim the lead.

Porter’s third three-point shot of the third quarter gave the Wildcats a 56-54 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Porter’s final 3-pointer of the game came with 2:27 left in the game. It gave the Wildcats a 63-61 lead.

Leading scorers for East St. John included Porter (22 points) and ESJ center Korey Raymond, who contributed with eight points.

The Wildcats, who are coached by Charles Julien, will close out the regular season Friday night at South Laforuche in Galliano. ESJ is currently in sixth place in District 6-5A.