By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

RESERVE — The Tiger basketball headed home licking their wounds after a pair of district losses at East St. John Tuesday night in the Wildcat gym, wounds that were mostly inflicted by a pair of players.

ESJ’s Mechelle Thomas and Trenton Marshall led the offensive attack in the boys and girls games respectively, with each scoring 25-plus points.

Thomas got the LadyCats started on a high note in the opening game, scoring 28 in an upset of the Lady Tigers, who are favored in the 5-5A title run this year.

ESJ used an early 11 point lead going into the second quarter to set the tempo and held off the Hahnville squad as they slowly mounted a comeback. Ahead by two going into the final period, the two squads went blow-for-blow, combining to score 40 points. But it was the home team that closed out with a win, as the Lady Tigers were unable to close the gap with their final possessions.

Danielle Douglass led Hahnville in the effort with 15 points while Chey Hill got 11 and Latrice Samuel got ten.

The three LadyCats in double figures for the game were Thomas, Keyona Nelson with 12 and Trolanda Payne with ten.

The victory gives East St. John the district advantage, as the LadyCats have a 3-0 start in league play and a 22-7 record. Hahnville stands at 1-1 in district, 18-3 on the year.

The boys teams took the floor next for the district opener for both squads. ESJ used a 17-11 run in both the second and third quarters to build a 12 point lead and held off a pressing rally by the Tigers to start 5-5A play off in the Wildcat’s direction.

Marshall led all scorers with 35 while Hahnville had two players in double-digits. Laron Byrd went for 22 and Jay Kinsey got 12.

East St. John goes to 20-5 on the season while Hahnville drops to 12-7.