By ROBERT L. LEE

LUTCHER – It wasn’t a district game and their hearts weren’t fully into the game, but the Destrehan Wildcats chalked a 71-59 win to their 18-7 record. Coach Joe Schick said his team didn’t play particularly well Saturday night versus Lutcher, mainly because of having played and lost to H.L. Bourgeois the night before.

“To come back and play the next night, it’s hard to keep the intensity level up,” continued Schick. “Then it wasn’t a district game and we’re not back yard type rivals. So I don’t think our kids’ minds were focused and we kind of let our guard down.”

The Wildcats started the night on key, outscoring their opponent 21-10 in the first quarter and again 18-10 in the second for an overall 39-20 lead at the half.

“We did a good job on the full-court press early, which got us the lead,” said Schick. He said one of the few good things to come out of this game was the team getting some work on the press, which they don’t normally get to use during games and nobody on the team was hurt.

The break in the game for halftime also broke the Wildcats string of momentum. The Wildcats shots either bounced out or off from the rim, slowing their scoring to almost a standstill. Smelling their chance, the Bulldogs feasted on points and when the buzzer sounded, had outscored Destrehan 21-13.

“I don’t know if they had a lid on the goal, but we lost our touch,” said Schick. “They battled back, at least we didn’t fall apart.”

The Wildcats kept their composure long enough to fight back at the Bulldogs and keep control of their lead.

With their lead cut in half after the third quarter, the Wildcats only needed to match the Bulldogs’ shots for eight more minutes. When the teams walked off the court, Destrehan had scored 19 points, only one ahead of Lutcher’s 18, to hold the lead and the 71-59 win.

“I just think it was a bad time for the game,” said Schick.

“Maybe we should try to move it up to December, if the other coaches agree. I am just glad to put this behind us and get back into district.”

He said for his team to continue being successful, they will have to come back and play every day. He said one game, whether a win or loss, won’t make the district championship.

His team will have to string up as many wins as possible, starting with a couple hard days of practice, then their two home games with East St. John Tuesday and Friday against Terrebonne.