BY GEORGE MAHL

RESERVE – The third annual River Parish Shootout featured teams from all of the local basketball-playing high schools. This year’s event was held Saturday at Reserve Christian School.

The opening game saw Lutcher destroy an overmatched Dutchtown High School team 79-39. Then, St. Charles Catholic played its second good game in as many nights by defeating Riverside 74-34.

The third game of the afternoon saw East St. John beat St. James 86-63. One of the more anticipated games of the evening was the Hahnville-West St. John matchup. After two competitive quarters, HHS pulled away in the second half to defeat the Rams 74-49.

The night cap saw probably the best team in the area, Class B Reserve Christian, crush Class 5A Destrehan 80-51.

Lutcher versus Dutchtown

The Lutcher Bulldogs proved why they are considered one of the top teams in District 10-3A. With four starters scoring in double figures, the Bulldogs defeated an overmatched Dutchtown team 79-39 in the first game of the River Parish Shootout.

“I think we’re starting to peak right now,” said LHS head coach Mike McNamara. “We still have a lot of room for improvement, but I think on any given day we can beat anybody.”

Things got off to a difficult start for DHS. They let the Bulldogs jump out to a commanding 13-4 lead during the first three minutes of the game. Lutcher senior guard Derrius Jackson converted on a three-point play, giving LHS a nine-point lead. However, on their next possession, Dutchtown came back and Josh Jackson nailed a three-point shot of his own. Jackson’s basket made the score 13-7 Lutcher with four minutes left in the quarter.

A big offensive output early in the second quarter gave the Bulldogs a 28-12 lead with 1:48 left until the half. While the Bulldogs’ offense shined, the DHS offense appeared gloomy in the quarter. Lutcher only gave up three points in the second period.

A 20-9 lead rapidly became a 29-12 lead with 1:48 left in the second quarter. Gerard Landry, who finished with 19 points, had eight points in the first half for Lutcher.

“Gerard is one of the best athletes I have been around. He gives you everything he has got,” McNamara said.

Other players began to get involved for Lutcher in the second half. Senior Gerard Michael, who finished with 13 points, had seven in the third quarter. His jumper near the end of the third quarter expanded the LHS lead to 55-29.

Other leading scorers for Lutcher included guard Ellis Hughes (11 points) and Ashlon Albert (10 points). Leading the way for DHS was Jackson, who contributed seven points. The Bulldogs return home Friday against Vandebilt Catholic.

St. Charles Catholic versus Riverside Academy

The game between St. Charles Catholic and Riverside pitted a team coming off an impressive victory the night before, SCC, and a team having early season difficulties, RA.

One of the key matchups going into the game was Josh Labiche of RA going against SCC starter Michael Bonura. After the final horn, Bonura and the rest of the Comets got the best of Labiche and the Rebels, defeating them 74-34 in the shootout’s second game.

“I have been pleased with our effort over the last couple of games. We need to keep building momentum,” said SCC head coach Jeff Montz.

The victory put the Comets at 7-9 on the season, while RA fell to 6-10. Labiche was held to a season-low two points.

A back-and-fourth first quarter led to the Comets owning a 19-16 lead at the end of the period. The Comets had a three-point lead thanks to T.J. Giancontieri’s three-point shot that banked in off the backboard with 42 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

It began to get rougher for the Rebels in the second period. A 10-0 spurt at the beginning of the quarter made the score 32-16 SCC with about two minutes remaining until halftime.

The majority of the points were the result of good passing from Bonura and Michael Trogler.

“I think we are doing a better job with our passing. That is something we have been working hard on lately,” Montz said.

Labiche’s only basket occurred in the third quarter. His jumper with about 14 seconds left until halftime made the score 37-20 SCC.

In addition, the Class 3A Comets outscored the Class 2A Rebels 18-4 in the second quarter.

Leading the way for SCC were Michael Bowman, who finished with 22 points, and Bonura, who scored 17 points. Ryan Griffin led all RA scorers with 12 points.

East St. John versus St. James

It was Wildcats against Wildcats in the third game of the River Parish Shootout. Winners of the recent Riverside Academy Holiday Tournament, East St. John continued its winning ways by defeating the St. James Wildcats 86-63.

“We played well today. We had some lapses, but this win will help us prepare for what will be a tough district,” said ESJ head coach Charles Julien.

Karencio Esco led the ESJ attack with 19 points. A 10-2 blitz at the beginning of the first quarter gave the Wildcats a quick 15-7 lead.

A four-point play, courtesy of Dywand Dennis, made the score 18-9 East St. John. A late rally from St. James cut the lead to 21-15 with :18 left in the first quarter.

With Julien constantly saying to his team “deny, deny,” the Wildcats pressured St. James throughout the game, thus causing difficult shot opportunities for the District 10-3A school.

Willie Lago’s jumper right before the half gave the Reserve school a 46-25 lead.

The ESJ lead never got bigger than 21 for most of the third quarter. However, eight consecutive points from Esco pushed the lead to 64-41 with about 2:58 left in the third quarter. Three more free throws from Esco literally made it impossible for the Vacherie school to come back.

St. James starter Kenneth Winchester made a bucket with seven seconds left in the quarter making the score 72-42 ESJ.

Five different SJ players scored at least two points in the third quarter. Leading the way for St. James was Nicholas Narcisse (15 points), including eight of the final 10 points. Also, David Johnson had 14 points in the loss.

East St. John got productive scoring from senior Sorrell Allen (14 points) and sophomore Ryan Perrilloux (13 points).

East St. John will return to action Friday at home when they play South Lafourche. St. James returns home Jan. 17 against Assumption.

Hahnville versus West St. John

On paper, the fourth game of the afternoon featuring Hahnville and West St. John figured to be the most competitive of the day-long event.

For the first half, it was extremely competitive. However, the third and fourth quarters belonged entirely to the Tigers.

Behind Brett Naquin’s 17 points, Hahnville picked up a 74-49 win over West St. John.

“We played real well offensively tonight. Defensively, I thought we were at the top of our game, especially with our rebounding,” said HHS head coach Brian Lumar.

The combination of Quinn Johnson and Thomas Augusta enabled the Rams to keep the first quarter close. Trailing 22-21, Naquin lifted off the ground for a thunderous dunk, giving the District 6-5A school a 23-22 lead with 6:31 to play in the first half.

After both teams exchanged baskets on several occasions, Johnson made a shot giving WSJ a 34-33 lead with about one left until halftime. Hahnville starter Joey Carmendelle sank a free throw right before the half ended, which made the score 34-34 at the break.

In the third and fourth quarters, HHS shut down the Rams’ fast-paced offense by limiting them to only 15 points in the second half. Other than Naquin, Comandelle and Courtnie McCoy each finished in double figures.

For West St. John, Johnson led all starters with 12 points, while Augusta contributed nine.

Reserve Christian versus Destrehan

The Reserve Christian Eagles flew past the Destrehan Fighting Wildcats 80-51 before an enthusiastic crowd in the finale of the River Parish Shootout in Reserve.

Chris McClain and Demond “Tweety” Carter each had 19 points in the win. Also, RCS center Matt Jackson had 11 rebounds in the victory.

Carter scored all of his points in the first three quarters.

“We played three good teams three nights in a row and beat two of them,” was how RCS coach Timmy Byrd put it when asked how his team has been playing lately.

The Class B school jumped out to a 22-10 lead over Class 5A DHS thanks to great three-point shooting. The Eagles hit four three-pointers in the first quarter to jump out to a commanding lead.

They finished the game with a total of 11. Marlon Brumfield, Carter, and McClain all hit from beyond the arc in the first six minutes of the game. A 22-10 lead became a 32-10 lead with about five minutes left in the second quarter.

The second half saw both teams exchange baskets more frequently. In addition, the final quarter saw each team exchange baskets on six consecutive occasions.

The leading scorer for Destrehan was Aaron Sylvain with 19 points.

The Eagles next home game is Jan. 21 against Mt. Hermon. Destrehan will return home Jan. 28 to play South Lafourche.