By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS – East St. John had plenty to be confident about entering their Class 5A regional playoff game Tuesday night – the Wildcats were winners of 11 straight, undefeated district champions and had found a knack for making plays late to pull out victories.

But they ran into a buzzsaw in St. Augustine.

The top-seeded Purple Knights jumped out early and East St. John never recovered as St. Augustine rolled to a 76-41 victory to advance to the state quarterfinals.

“We came out with the intention to win every quarter,” said St. Augustine coach Clifford Barthe. “Our focus was to hold them to 10 points in each. We knew we could score points. It was a matter of being able to defend.”

Deion Taylor led St. Augustine (28-6) with a game-high 17 points. Javan Felix scored 12.

St. Augustine landed the knockout blow early, beginning the game on a 19-4 run capped by a Deion Taylor 3-pointer.

A Joseph Williams free throw and a 3-pointer by Sean Thomas cut the Purple Knights’ lead to 11, but then came another St. Augustine run. Taylor hit a driving layup to make it 21-8. Two free throws by Brandon Lain pushed the lead to 23-8 at the end of the first quarter. Sydie London scored to begin the second quarter, and immediately the Knights scored again off of a steal as Kyle Jones put one in.

Rashad Green hit a jumper for East St. John (21-14) to momentarily interrupt the St. Augustine surge, but the Purple Knights scored the next 11 points to make it 38-10.

“I was disappointed that we didn’t execute like we can,” said East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine. “We didn’t do the things that led to us winning 11 in a row, being disciplined on offense and defense, and we got away from that.”

Williams led East St. John with 12 points. Sean Thomas scored eight and Chester Victor and LeBaron Sylvester each scored six.

St. Augustine’s size was a big factor as the Knights dominated the interior and on the glass.

“We knew East St. John didn’t have much size,” said Barthe. “As a result, we expected our bigs to have a good night. On the flip side, defensively, could we defend their quickness? As it turns out, we did.”

St. Augustine played East St. John during the regular season and defeated the Wildcats 47-30. In that game, the Knights led by just one at halftime.

“Last time, we came out flat,” said Felix. “We made it a point to come out strong early and make a statement … We’ve got one goal in mind, and that’s to win state.”

Jasmine said that the season was a successful one despite the loss.

“I’m definitely proud of the team,” said Jasmine. “We made history again this year. You don’t want to lose in the playoffs, but we came up against the top ranked team. It’s a credit to them.”