By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

EDGARD – The district season seems to have given West St. John new life.

The Rams boys basketball team went 2-10 in predistrict play but has already doubled its season win total after three district games, most recently coming away with a dominant home win over St. John-Plaquemine Friday night, 75-38.

West St. John (4-11, 2-1) outscored the Eagles 20-5 in the first quarter and extended their lead to 20 after three quarters. In the fourth, the Rams’ defense was unrelenting, allowing just four St. John (4-15, 0-4) points to 21 for the Rams.

Denzel Pierre led the Rams with 17 points. Austin Terry scored 15 and Mark Wright added 10.

“Offensively, we shot it well from the perimeter,” said West St. John coach Antoine Edwards. “And without a doubt, we played strong defensively. We forced turnovers and that ended up netting us some easy baskets.”

Edwards said he was pleased with his team’s offensive balance. Aside from the team’s three scorers in double figures, two more Rams (Quan Scott and Lawrence Williams) each scored eight.

“You always want to have multiple guys show the ability to get it done,” said Edwards.

Last Tuesday, West St. John fell 49-35 at White Castle (14-8, 3-1) to suffer its first district loss.

Jalen Adams and Terry each scored 10 to lead WSJ.

“I thought we played well for the most part, but we didn’t finish as many plays as we needed to,” said Edwards.

“We didn’t shoot free throws as well as we needed to, or as many. We had nine attempts in the second half, and they had 24. We gave up too many second chance points and allowed too much in transition.

“We had opportunities, but we didn’t take advantage of ours and they took advantage of theirs. When we made mistakes, they capitalized. When you turn the ball over against a good team like White Castle, that’s what happens.”