RESERVE — The East St. John Wildcats traveled to Gonzales Monday and were defeated 89-76 by the East Ascension Spartans during their first basketball game of the season.

East St. John head coach Yussef Jasmine has a freshman starter and two sophomore starters and feels youth caught up with his club.

“I think it was a good game for us,” he said.

“It was a very aggressive crowd and very loud. East Ascension is a good team. This gave my guys a chance to see that they really can do this.

“You can tell them they can play at a high level all you want, but when they get out there and really do it, it shows them they can. Now I know we’re prepared for the rest of the season.

“My guys want to win every game. Losing that first game is the first time in eight or nine years that we’ve been 0-1.

“The fact that we lost our first game was a big challenge for us, but we are looking forward to where we can go from here.”

Senior Troy Green, a four-year starter, will be counted on to help lead ESJ this season

Offensively, coaches feel he is one of the most versatile players in the region.

“He is about 6’3” and can go inside and out,” Jasmine said. “He knows the game. He loves the game. He’s an all-around good player.”

“Sophomore Alan Williams’ passing and shooting skills will be needed. The speedy guard defends really well,” Jasmine said.

Fellow sophomore J’von Antonio, a starter last season, is an aggressive, two-sport athlete who will be counted this season for his versatility and rebounding.

“He gets up and down the court really well for his position,” Jasmine said, adding senior Alandrian Martin is a smart player with starting experience who shoots well and knows his role.

Jasmine said he has a lot to get excited about with his players.

“We have a lot of seniors, so our goal is nothing short of a state championship this season,” Jasmine said. 

“We’ve been arguably one of the better teams in this state with a top 10 rank for the past five or six seasons going into playoffs, so I think it’s time for us to cross the barrier.

“East St. John has never won a state basketball championship.

“We are expecting this season to be a historical season.”

Lady Cats

The East St. John Lady Cats basketball team played their first game of the season Monday against the East Ascension Lady Spartans, losing 48-39.

“It’s not the best way to start the season,” East St. John girls basketball head coach Stasha Thomas said.

“We saw what we could have done better and we are practicing to make sure that doesn’t happen again.

“East Ascension is a really good, tough team. We held on as best we could, but ultimately they defeated us.”

Thomas isn’t letting the loss get in her players’ heads.

“When you lose, you have to put that behind you and move on to the next game,” Thomas said.

“You remember what errors you made and you correct them.

“You can’t let a little loss ruin the whole season.

“We are just starting and we are going to go far this season.”

Thomas said the Lady Cats’ youth could be to blame for the loss.

“Our team is really young,” Thomas said.

“We only have one senior and she’s new to the team. East Ascension has a lot of very experienced girls. That helped them and hurt us.

“We are going to come back better than ever. The girls are strong players and they are hungry for the win. We aren’t stopping without a championship to show how good we are.”

By Courtney Griggs