MICHAEL KIRAL

PHOTO: ST. JAMES’ HENRY WASHINGTON drives in for a layup against Lutcher’s Chris Johnson in the third quarter Tuesday night. Washington had a team-high 20 points in the Wildcats’ 92-74 victory. (Staff Photo by Michael Kiral) LUTCHER – Remember the Gatorade commercials with Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm, the ones with the theme “Whatever you can do, I can do better?” For over three quarters Tuesday night, that was how the St. James-Lutcher game went before the Wildcats pulled away for a 92-74 victory in District 9-3A play. The victory wrapped up the District 9-3A title for St. James, the third straight district title for the Wildcats. St. James improved to 16-6 overall and 7-1 in district. Lutcher, which had already clinched at least second place in the district, fell to 21-12 overall and 5-2 in district. For the third straight game, St. James had five players score in double figures. Henry Washington led the way with 20 points and came up with a key steal that regained the momentum for St. James late in the fourth quarter. Derrick Jones contributed 18 points, Justin Aubert and LeVar Joseph 17 apiece and Stevenson Jones 14. Donnie Francois scored a game-high 24 points for the Bulldogs. Jared Alexis chipped in with 13 and Jeremy Foreman and Chris Johnson with 11 apiece. “They’re a good team and we’re a good team,” St. James head coach Lionel Ezidore said. “It came down to execution. We expected a battle. We expected it to be a close game and for it to go down to the last basket.” For awhile, it certainly looked like it would come down to that. St. James led 65-52 at the end of the third quarter and took a 67-54 lead as Derrick Jones found Stevenson Jones inside. But Lutcher answered as Johnson scored on a put back, then nailed a 3-pointer from the left side to make it 67-59 with six minutes left. Following a St. James timeout, Washington intercepted a pass at midcourt and was immediately fouled. The foul was called intentional with Washington hitting both foul shots. Two possessions later, Washington glided in for a layup, then buried a jumper in the lane to give the Wildcats a 73-59 lead with 4:32 left. “We had relaxed a bit and made some bad passes,” Ezidore said of what he told the team during the timeout. “We were making too many turnovers. I told them we ad to cut back on the turnovers and do a better job of executing.” Foreman drove in to cut the deficit to 12 two possessions later. But St. James answered with a 9-0 run behind a drive and a put back by Jones and a put back by Aubert. A put back by Jones and a drive by Aubert gave the Wildcats their biggest lead at 90-68 in the final minute. “Turnovers were big,” Lutcher head coach Mike McNamara said. “Our turnovers and mistakes kept magnifying. They kept going at us. We would make a run, make a mistake and it turned into a 13-point game. We’ve been able to keep coming back but we weren’t able to do it tonight.” St. James took a 44-32 lead into the half and opened the second half on an 10-4 run to build the lead to 18. After a jumper by Kayne Matherne had cut the deficit to 47-36, Derrick Jones scored on a put back and Stevenson Jones buried a jumper. Aubert then caught an alley-oop pass from Washington and slammed it home, giving the Wildcats a 54-36 lead. But Lutcher came back with a 15-4 run of its own to pull to within seven late in the quarter. Francois started the run with a 3-pointer from the right side. After a layup by Washington, Johnson drove in and Foreman and Matherne scored on put backs to make it 56-45 with 3:16 left in the quarter. After a St. James timeout, Jalvin Fluence scored six straight points on a hook shot, put back and layup to cut the deficit to 58-51 with 2:05 left. But St. James responded with a 7-1 run to close out the quarter. Washington hit a jumper, then grabbed a steal and found Joseph driving in. Joseph followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing, giving the Wildcats a 65-52 lead at the end of the third quarter. The teams traded baskets early with St. James taking a 10-9 lead on a jumper by Derrick Jones with just over three minutes left in the first quarter. After Lutcher regained the lead on a jumper by Alexis, Washington buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key and a jumper on the right baseline to make it 17-13 at the end of the quarter. Lutcher tied the game at 20 with 6:05 left in the half on a jumper by Johnson and a put back by Francois. But Erron Hickerson followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, starting the Wildcats on a 15-0 run over the next 2:40. Joseph followed with a drive, then found Aubert underneath to make it 27-20. Another 3-pointer from the top of the key by Hickerson, a drive by Derrick Jones and two free throws by Aubert made it 35-20 midway through the quarter. “We started executing better,” Ezidore said. “We took better shots and made better decisions. And our defense helped us.” Put backs by Reggie Scott and Francois brought the Bulldogs to within 11. Stevenson Jones came back with a 3-pointer from the left corner to build the lead back to 42-26. Lutcher then scored the next six points of the half on a drives by Fluence and Francois and a jumper by Alexis to cut the deficit to 10. Derrick Jones answered with a jumper from the right baseline at the buzzer, giving the Wildcats a 44-32 lead at the break.