By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

East St. John wasn’t facing a Riverside, Ehret or St. Augustine-like powerhouse when it took on host Central Lafourche last week. But to Wildcats’ coach Yussef Jasmine, his team’s 69-36 victory showed what his team is capable of when it plays to its potential for four quarters.

“Instead of playing for 24, we played for 32. That was the difference here,” said Jasmine. “My kids are starting to see after these games with Ehret and St. Augustine, if we do as coach says, if we play for 32 instead of 24 minutes, we can be one of the best teams if not the best.”

East St. John led 36-22 at halftime and 52-30 after three quarters.

Emmanuel Victor led the Wildcats (5-7) with 15 points. D’haquille Williams and Elex Carter each scored 12.

The win came off of a 47-30 loss to St. Augustine that saw ESJ trail 16-15 going into halftime.

“We’ve got seven losses this year. But in reality, it’s been one quarter in each game in which we’ve given it away,” said Jasmine. “Here, we play well for the first two quarters. In the third though, because our offense was stagnant, we had to work harder on defense.”

Jasmine said that his team played well defensively, but its production at that end of the floor could have been even better with some patience on the offensive end.

“I use the football analogy with them,” said Jasmine. “When your defense is on the field for too long, when the offense isn’t giving them rest, it makes it hard. And St. Augustine was real patient … one kid hits three in a row, another hits three and a row, and that was the difference in the game.”

Joseph Williams scored 10, D’haquille Williams scored nine for ESJ.

“Overall, I think we got better,” said Jasmine. “We played them and Ehret within a week, two of the top five teams in the state. My kids played well for 24 minutes, but we’re realizing it’s a 32 minute game.”