MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / January 5, 2000

RESERVE – When St. James played at West St. John in mid December, freethrow shooting proved to be the Wildcats’ undoing as the Rams rallied for an 80-78 victory on a last second basket by Marlon Jackson.

But it was free throws that proved to be the difference Wednesday night as Justin Aubert hit two with nine seconds left to preserve a 75-72 victory over West St. John in the championship game of the RiversideHoliday Classic.

St. James, which swept the tournament, improved to 7-3 on the season.The victory also helped the Wildcats, who defeated the Rams at home earlier in the month, win the season series.

West St. John tied the game at 71 on a 3-pointer from the right wing byDonriel Louis with 58 seconds left. The Wildcats came right back down thecourt with Corey Webster leaning into the lane for a jumper with 44 seconds remaining.

West St. John had an opportunity on its next possession as Louis, Jackson,Carl Gauthier and Amone Lumar all grabbed rebounds. Lumar was fouled onthe play, hitting the first of two free throws to cut the deficit to 73-72 with 18 seconds left.

Webster was fouled on the inbounds but missed both foul shots. Louisgrabbed the rebound and drove the court, dropping a pass to Lumar underneath. Lumar was fouled on the shot attempt but missed both shotswith a lane violation called against the Rams on the second attempt.

Aubert, who had 16 points in the contest, was fouled on the inbounds pass and hit both shots to make it 75-72. Leslie Aubert then stole the inboundspass but the Wildcats turned the ball over with 7.71 seconds left. JeremyLumar took the ball up court but his 3-pointer from the top of the key hit the front of the rim and time ran out before the Rams could get another shot off.

“We’ve been coming along,” St. James head coach Lionel Ezidore said. “Ourfree throw shooting wasn’t good again but we hit the ones that counted.”St. James took a 61-56 lead into the fourth quarter and it extended it to64-56 on two free throws by Claudell Parker and one by Webster. West St.John rallied to pull to with 66-65 on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Brian Lumar with 3:33 remaining.

After West St. John tied the score on a free throw by Louis with 2:59 left,Justin Aubert regained the lead with a jumper in the paint. A free throwby Aubert made it 69-66 with 2:18 remaining. A jumper by Jackson in thepaint was answered with a drive by Leslie Aubert, making it 71-68 with 1:25 left in the contest.

St. James trailed 43-42 at the half before tying the game at 47 on arebound by Justin Aubert off a pass inside by Joseph Christy. West St. Johnbounced back to regain the lead at 52-47 on a drive by Amone Lumar and a 3-pointer from the right corner by Louis. The Wildcats again tied the scoreat 52 on a 3-pointer from the right corner by Parker with 4:30 remaining in the quarter.

A put back by Justin Aubert with 2:08 left started a 9-0 run for the Wildcats. A jumper from the left side by Jereal Dillon and a three-pointplay by Webster made it 59-53. Webster then grabbed a rebound and foundDillon downcourt to build the lead to eight. Jeremy Lumar quickly took theball upcourt and tossed up a shot from midcourt that went through the net as time expired, cutting the deficit to 61-56 heading into the fourth quarter.

The first half was a seesaw affair with West St. John jumping out to a 5-0 lead on a 3-pointer y Brian Lumar and a jumper by Jackson. St. Jamesrallied to take the lead on a three-point play by Parker, extending it to 11-7 on a dunk by Webster off a steal by Parker.

After a drive by Carl Gauthier, a three-point play by Webster started a 9-0 run for the Wildcats. A 3-pointer by Justin Aubert from the left side builtthe lead to 20-11. The Rams bounced back, getting a three-point play byDwayne Bastain and a 3-pointer by Louis to pull to within 20-17 at the end of the quarter.

West St. John went ahead, 21-20, on two free throws by Louis with 7:21left in the half. The teams continued to trade the lead with St. Jamestaking a 28-26 advantage as Leslie Aubert was fouled while hitting a 3- pointer and made the free throw. Two free throws by Louis made it 37-34in favor of the Rams before St. James again rallied to take a 40-37 lead ona drive by Webster. A pass from Amone Lumar to Louis inside gave theRams a three-point lead before Derrick Williams put back a miss by Webster at the buzzer to make it 43-42 at the half.

Louis scored 17 points in the quarter and finished with a game-high 31 points in being named to the all-tournament team. Jeremy Lumar added 11points while Brian Lumar chipped in with nine.

Webster led the Wildcats with 22 points and was named the tournament’s MVP. Parker had 14 points in being selected to the all-tournament team.”We’ve been down but we came together during the tournament,” Webster said. “We’ve got a win streak going. Hopefully, we can keep it going duringthe season.”

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