By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

NEW ORLEANS – East St. John split its first two games at the CYO tournament, first falling to St. Thomas Aquinas Wednesday but rebounding to topple St. Charles Catholic Thursday.

The Wildcats bested the Comets, 63-27, running out to a big early lead and never relenting. East St. John led 31-7 at halftime, fueled largely by a 20-3 second quarter margin.

Joseph Williams scored 14 to lead East St. John. Chester Victor scored 10 and D’haquille Williams added seven.

For St. Charles, Mike Green scored 10.

“Our main focus was on executing, regardless of the score,” said East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine. “To play defense the way we can and do it for the entire game. We had some lapses (in previous losses) that we needed to correct.”

Comets’ coach Chris Perrone was impressed by the Wildcats.

“They’re very fast, very quick, and very athletic. They’re good defensively and very well coached,” he said. “And they make some big shots. (Victor) made a couple of big threes for them. But the thing that stuck out to me was their tenacity. That’s the best word to describe them … tenacious.”

Class 2A St. Thomas Aquinas was the second consecutive state championship contender East St. John faced this week after falling to Country Day, 60-56 Monday. STA downed ESJ, 68-55.

The Falcons led 14-13 after a quarter, but extended that lead to 44-32 after two.

Victor led ESJ with 12. Joseph Williams scored eight and D’haquille Williams scored seven.

“They executed over the whole game better than we did,” said Jasmine.

“There was one stretch where we had three or four turnovers in a row. And when we turned it over, they converted that into points.”

“This year, we’ve got the most competitive schedule since I’ve been here,” said Jasmine. “It’s good for us to play that kind of competition early so we’re prepared for our district.”