LAFAYETTE – The Carroll Bulldogs outshot and outrebounded the St. James Wildcats to move on to the championship game and send the Wildcats back home Tuesday evening.

The semi-final 79-52 loss ended the Wildcats’ season at 21-7 and their hopes of a three-pete championship season.

“We were just glad to be there,” said St. James coach Lionell Ezidore.

The Wildcats were the state champions three years ago and earned the runner-up honors on their second trip to Lafayette.

The Bulldogs, 31-8, held a nine-point lead at halftime, then returned even stronger in the second half. Their added force resulted in taking almost a third of all the rebounds, both offensively and defensively, while the offense shot 64 percent from the field. However, the Wildcats’ determination and 3-point shots from LeVar Joseph and Erron Hickerson eventually cut Carroll’s lead to only five, 47-42, toward the end of the third quarter.

With less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the aggresive Bulldogs ended hopes of a St. James comeback with an 18-1 scoring rampage.

Ezidore said despite the playoff loss, his three seniors, Erron Hickerson, Derrick Jones and Levar Joseph, as well as the entire team, have been doing a good job all year.

He said his most welcome performances came from the Wildcats’ sophomore centers Jarrel Price and Tyrone Madison.