By ROBERT L. LEE

RESERVE – Two of the most energetic and entertaining offenses collided Monday night on a court known for some of the best basketball games. The now 16-6 St. James Wildcats came into Reserve Christian and slammed down a three-quarter lead, before the 37-6 Eagles could take full control and the win, 91-78.

The Wildcats started the game with an 11-0 scoring drive and finished the first eight minutes of play with an intimidating 22-10 first quarter run. After figuring out how to handle the Wildcats’ engulfing defense, the Eagles enduring spirit got their scoring back on track and led to 20 second quarter points, although the Wildcats were right on their heels with 19. he It’s something the Wildcats are used to, but for the Eagles to head to the locker room down 41-30, was rattling.

After the halftime break, the two teams returned to the court with the same feverous play and Reserve Christian squeezing out four more points than St. James, 26-22, to help chip away the Wildcats’ rhythm and lead to 63-56.

The Eagles’ chipping away at the lead stopped in the third quarter. When the ball dropped for the last eight minutes, the Eagles took every opportunity to steal it back to their side of the court. Led by Demond Carter’s 15 fourth-quarter points, the Eagles went on a 21-3 run and finished the quarter with a total 35 points, compared to the Wildcats’ 15 points. The last minute explosion was enough for the Eagles to open a strong lead of their own for the first time in the game and take the high-scoring win 91-78. Carter finished the night with 33 points, 21 of those from behind the three-point line. Matt Jackson dropped in 18 points, while teammate Marlon Brumfield came out with 14 points.

All five of St. James’ players scored in the double digits. Wildcat Derrick Jones led the team with 19, Jarrel Price was right behind with 18, while Desi Steib had 16, Erron Hickerson had 13 and Levar Joseph pulled in 12.