By GEORGE MAHL

LAPLACE – At times, it was not pretty. Nonetheless, it was a non-district victory for the St. Charles Catholic High School boys basketball team.

Thanks to good defense the Comets recently pulled off a 52-42 victory over Port Sulphur High School. Leading the way for SCC was senior forward Michael Bonura who finished with 18 points.

“I thought we were sluggish tonight. We were a little inconsistent at times out there,” said SCC head coach Jeff Montz.

Things did not get off to a blazing start for either team. Leading 10-5 with about 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Port Sulphur’s Kevin Roberts nailed a three-point shot to put the Bronchos up by eight. All five of the Comets first quarter points were scored by Bonura. The second quarter saw the Comets clamp down on the Bronchos ballhandlers by limiting them to only one point in the quarter.

“We pressed them tonight and played with an up tempo,” Montz said afterward.

St. Charles Catholic outscored PSHS 10-1 in the quarter. During the run, four different Comets made baskets. Junior Michael Bowen hit a layup with 4:19 in the second quarter to cut the Port Sulphur lead to 14-9. Michael Trogler’s jumper with less than a minute left in the half put the home team up by one, 15-14. The Comets shot 63 percent from the field in the first half, but were 0 for 12 from beyond the three-point arc.

The third quarter saw a more even period as the Bronchos tied the game up at 20 thanks to Michael Etienne’s jumper with 4:52 remaining in the quarter. With the scored tied at 24-24, the Comets went on a 8-0 sprint to end the third period. Michael Pecoraro nailed a three-pointer to give the Comets a 32-24 lead at the end of the quarter. Pecoraro scored all of his 14 points in the second half.

“I think our bench sparked us tonight. It is always good to have someone who can step up and do well in the absence of others,” commented Montz, a first-year head coach. In the fourth quarter, both teams each scored 18 points. Bonura drove the ball from the top of the paint and laid it in with 3:09 left in the game. This made the score 44-32 in favor of St. Charles Catholic. A three-point shot from Roberts to end the game made the score 52-42. Top scorers for Port Sulphur included Roberts, who finished with 12, while Etienne and Joseph Washington each contributed with eight.

SCC returns to action Friday when the Comets host Zachary High School.