By JOHNNY PEPPO

Sports Editor

RESERVE – In a game where each of the first two quarters had the teams trading ten point runs, there’s no telling what’s to come in the second half.

But, as is usually the case, the Wildcat showdown of East St. John versus Destrehan came down to the wire where Destrehan’s defense held ESJ’s scoring at bay to take a 57-55 win and the top seed for 5-5A heading into the playoffs.

With the victory, Destrehan has earned a bi-district home game against Airline. ESJ, who captured their first share of a boys basketball district title, also drew a home game for the first round, as the district one runner-up Ruston will travel to Reserve from north Louisiana.

&#8220None of these games are easy,” said ESJ coach Charles Julien. &#8220You really have to fight for every one because every team has a lot of talent. Destrehan deserves a lot of credit. But I think our kids will bounce back. We’ll play hard because that’s how we’ve gotten to this point.”

Destrehan’s win was it’s second over ESJ in four days. Last Friday, DHS forced the tie-breaker with a convincing win in Destrehan.

On Monday, Destrehan did it again with a clamped down defense that allowed 21 points in the first quarter, but gave up just 34 more through the three remaining quarters. Their offense remained steady meanwhile, with a balanced attack that got in gear after scoring just six points in the first eight minutes of play.

Leading that attack was Roosevelt Johnson who scored 14. Tim Molten got 13 and Darrow Barnes got nine.

East St. John couldn’t have had a better start in the game with a 21-6 run to end the first quarter with a 15 point lead. But Destrehan adjusted to the ESJ court in the second quarter and took the momentum with a 20-9 run, bringing them into halftime with a four point deficit.

Trenton Marshall led ESJ’s effort with a game high 24 points, but the Destrehan defense kept the home team off-balance. Going into the fourth down by just one point, ESJ couldn’t manage to get over the hump in the final eight minutes as the teams traded blows.

The win officially ends the regular season at a 25-10 record for Destrehan, 6-2 in district, along with the tie-breaker game, as play heads into the post-season. East St. John stands at 27-9 on the year, 6-2 in 5-5A.

&#8220They’ve got a good team,” Julien said of Destrehan. &#8220But 27-9 isn’t bad,” he added of his own team’s season record.

&#8220Our guys will come back and play hard against Ruston. We’ll be alright.”

Destrehan also has a tall order in store for them as they host the Airline Vikings. The Vikings took fourth place in a very competetive district 1-5A with Ruston, Southwood and West Monroe.