MICHAEL KIRAL

ST. JAMES – A change in defensive alignment sparked an offensive explosion for St. James Friday night. The Wildcats switched from a 3-2 zone to a 2-3 at halftime, rallying from a 30-29 deficit to defeat Lutcher, 81-64, in District 9-3A play. The win moved St. James to first place in District 9-3A with a 3-1 record. The Wildcats also improved to 12-6 overall. Lutcher dropped to second place with a 2-1 record and went to 16-11 overall. LeVar Joseph led five St. James in double figures with 24 points. Stevenson Jones contributed 18 points, Henry Washington 14, Justin Aubert 13 and Derrick Jones 10. The Wildcats had to overcome a 30-point effort by Donnie Francois for the Bulldogs. Chris Johnson came off the bench to score 15 while Reggie Scott added nine points. St. James shot 75 percent from the field in the third quarter to turn a one-point deficit into a 55-40 lead. After Francois put Lutcher ahead by three on a put back on the opening possession, Washington tied the game at 32 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key. Two possessions later, Aubert grabbed a steal, passed to Derrick Jones and got the ball back for a layup, giving the Wildcats their first lead since midway through the second quarter. Jones drove in for a score, then grabbed a steal and found Joseph downcourt. Joseph followed with a 3-pointer, giving St. James a 41-32 lead. Kayne Matherne got the Bulldogs back on the scoreboard with a jumper from the left side with 3:55 left. After a put back by Stevenson Jones, Jamie Jackson hooked in a shot to make it 45-38 with 2:57 left in the quarter. St. James responded with a 10-0 run as Washington drove in from the left side and Joseph scored off a rebound by Aubert. Joseph took in a steal on the ensuing possession, then grabbed another steal and passed to Washington. Washington found Aubert trailing, giving St. James a 53-38 lead with 1:08 left in the third. Scott buried a jumper with a second left, making it a 15-point game going into the fourth quarter. Lutcher got the deficit down to 58-47 with under six minutes to play on a 3-pointer from the left wing by Johnson. St. James answered right back, going on an 18-2 run over the next three and a half minutes. Derrick Jones found Aubert underneath to start the run on St. James’ next possession. Jones then found Stevenson Jones driving the lane for a dunk and Washington followed with a drive to make it 67-49. Aubert kicked out a pass to Joseph for a 3-pointer, then scored inside off a rebound by Derrick Jones. Two free throws by Joseph made it 76-50 with under two minutes to play. “We knew it was going to be a big game for us,” St. James head coach Lionel Ezidore, whose team was coming off a loss to E.D. White Tuesday, said. “We were going to be two games behind if we lost. It was a make or break game for us. We knew we had to step our game up. “I told the players, in a rivalry game, the most important thing is the game. We have to concentrate on the game.” St. James jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a 3-pointer by Stevenson Jones before Lutcher came back to go ahead. 7-5, on a jumper by Francois. A dunk by Aubert and two free throws by Joseph gave the Wildcats a 13-7 lead with 2:39 left in the first half. A jumper by Jones made it an eight-point game before Johnson came back with a jumper and a drive along the left baseline to make it 17-13 at the end of the quarter. Francois tapped in a rebound to close the gap to two on the first possession of the second quarter. St. James extended the lead out to 23-17 as Joseph scored off a steal by Derrick Jones. A jumper by Scott and a three-point play by Francois made it 23-22 with 4:47 left in the half. A jumper from the right side by Johnson gave the Bulldogs the lead at 24-23 two possessions later. Two free throws apiece by Francois and Courtney Long extended that lead to 28-23. After a hook shot by Derrick Jones, Francois scored inside to make it 30-25 with 1:31 remaining. St. James cut the deficit to 30-29 at the half on two free throws by Stevenson Jones and a drive by Erron Hickerson at the buzzer. “We didn’t play well the whole game,” Lutcher head coach Mike McNamara said. “It just wasn’t our night. We made too many mistakes from the start. But you have to give St. James credit. They played great. We knew it was going to be a war. We just didn’t execute.” Lutcher hosts St. Charles Catholic Friday in District 9-3A play.