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EDGARD — The West St. John Middle School Basketball Team was invited to participate in the Country Day Middle School Basketball Tournament in New Orleans. On Friday, January 13, the team faced Brother Martin.

Going into the game, Coach Courtney Evans knew Brother Martin would move the ball on the offensive end and play great defense. The first half of the game we started off slow, and Brother Martin capitalized on the Rams’ shortcomings on the court. The entire game was close, but turnovers and missed free throws cost West St. John in the end. The final score was West St. John 37, Brother Martin 46.

Jajuan Jackson was huge scoring and rebounding wise, finishing with 24 points. Colby Evans finished with seven points, while J’Kyrin Morris chipped in five points.

The next game was against Willow on Saturday, January 14. At the beginning of the game, Willow was aggressive on the defensive end of the floor. The game was close in the first half due to the Rams’ defense. Deavonnii Bartholomew was special in slowing their guards in the 3/2 press. Along with his defense, Deavonnii Bartholomew scored eight points in the first half. Colby Evans hit two big three-point shots in the first quarter. J’Kyrin Morris scored on a couple of fast breaks layups. Jajuan Jackson poured in eight points in the first half.

In the second half, Willow’s depth started to take a toll. Their coach began to sub in fresh bodies, which allowed them to slowly to push the lead into double digits.

“The one thing I informed my team about what we can learn from this game is to continue to hydrate your bodies and continue to work on conditioning,” Evans said. “We have played a lot of games this year, and our bodies need to continue to be ready. Deavonnii Bartholomew finished with eight points, Colby Evans had nine points, J’Kyrin Morris had seven points, Jerome Jackson Jr. had three points, and Jajuan Jackson had 17 points. The final score was West St. John 37, Willow 54.

Sunday, January 15 was bracket play, where a win would qualify the Rams to be able to play for the third place championship game. At the beginning of the game, Colby Evans hit two big three-point shots. Jajuan Jackson as well started to impose his will on the inside, scoring six first half points. West St. John’s defense pressured Country Day guards, which forced them into many turnovers.

“Our team showed that we wanted to get the third place championship game,” Evans said.

Colby Evans finished with 24 points, Jajuan Jackson finished with 15 points, and J’Kyrin Morris finished with eight points. The score was West St. John 44, Willow 24.

West St. John went on to win the Third Place Championship Game with 35 points, while Willow ended the game with 34.

All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have three characteristics: They play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard -Larry Brown

 

Story submitted by Coach Courtney Evans. To share your team’s news, email brooke.robichaux@lobservateur.com.