MICHAEL KIRAL / L’Observateur / January 11, 1999

EDGARD – The weather outside might have been cold Tuesday night but the action between West St. John and St. James was hot inside the West St.John gym.

Corey Webster hit two free throws with 22 seconds left to help the Wildcats take a 75-71 victory in a game that had a playoff-type atmosphere. The game saw three lead changes in the final 30 secondsalone and each team rallied from 10-point deficits in the contest.

Webster led St. James (6-5) with 26 points, 18 in the second half.DeShawn Burham added 14 points while Joe Christy contributed 12 points.

Anson Williams tossed in 10 points, including a clutch 3-pointer that tied the score at 69 with 1:30 left in the game.

West St. John (8-3) was led by Elijah Jasmin and Donriel Louis with 18points apiece. Dwayne Bastain tossed in 13 points with Marlon Jackson andBrian Lumar each adding nine.

West St. John took a 71-70 lead on two free throws by Louis with 29seconds left. On the Wildcats’ ensuing possession, Webster was fouled byJasmin while driving down the lane and made both free throws.

After a timeout by St. James, Louis drove inside but had his shot blockedby Christy. Webster grabbed the ball and drove downcourt, cutting downthe lane to make it a four point lead with 10 seconds left.

The Rams quickly got the ball downcourt but Louis’ 3-point attempt was off the mark. Christy grabbed the rebound and was fouled with a secondleft. Christy made the second of two free throws to seal the win.St. James took a 58-45 lead early in the fourth quarter on a steal atmidcourt and a layup by Williams. A 3-pointer by Jasmin at the top of thekey cut the deficit to eight before Christy drove the lane and dumped underneath to Steve Jones to make it 60-50.

A three-point play on a put back by Jackson cut the deficit to 62-57 with 4:30 remaining before Webster answered by bouncing in a jumper from the free throw line. A jumper by Bastain and a layup by Louis off a stealbrought the Rams to within 64-62 with 3:05 left.

West St. John went ahead for the first time since the middle of the thirdquarter on a 3-pointer by Jasmin from the left arc with 2:28 left. Lumarthen found Jasmin driving the right baseline to give the Rams a three- point lead.

St. James came right backwith a follow up by Webster but the Rams threw deep to Lumar off the inbounds to make it 69-66.

Williams tied the score on the ensuing possession with a 3-pointer from the left corner. The Wildcats went up by one with 30 seconds left asWilliams hit one of two free throws.

West St. John led 37-33 at the break. St. James took the lead early in thethird quarter as Burham scored on a layup after stealing a pass underneath the basket. The Rams regained the lead on a dunk by Louis after a steal byPendarvis Morris.

The Wildcats rallied, increasing the temp of the game and forcing the Rams into turnovers. Webster tied the score with a jumper and Burhamgave the Wildcats a 44-41 lead with a 3-pointer from the left arc.

Jones built the lead to 48-41 with a put back with 2:53 left in the quarter.

Leslie Aubert then found Webster ahead on a break with Webster laying it in as time expired, giving the Wildcats a 56-45 lead heading into the fourth.

West St. John trailed 13-9 early in the contest before going on a 14-0 runto end the first quarter. Jasmin tied the score with a put back and Bastainmade it 16-13 with a jumper in the lane. A 3-pointer by Louis, a put backby Jasmin and a jumper by Bastain made it 23-13 going into the second quarter.

A steal by Burham and a pass to Williams brought the Wildcats to within four midway through the second quarter. Lumar answered with a 3-pointerfrom the left side but Christy and Jones scored underneath to make it 28- 25.

The Rams were able to head off the Wildcats as a tap in by Bastain and a bounce pass from Jeremy Lumar to Jackson underneath gave the Rams a 34-27 lead with two minutes left. Webster brought the Wildcats to withinfour at the break with two free throws.

St. James coach Lionel Ezidore said his team got behind because it wasallowing the Rams to dominate on the offensive boards in the first half.

“We weren’t doing a good job boxing out and they were getting two or three shots on us,” Ezidore said. “We had to assess what we were doing.We began blocking out on them and limiting the shots they got.”West St. John coach Antoine Edwards said his team went into a cold spellat the wrong time, missing some key shots down the stretch, but that he was proud of the way they hung in despite falling behind by double digits early in the fourth quarter.

“We kept the pressure on and went to man-to-man matchups and were able to get back into the game,” Edwards said of the strategy early in the fourth.

“We had some opportunities but didn’t get the shots to fall. I thought weplayed well and St. James played well. We managed to come back and playhard and the kids didn’t quit.”

Return To Sports Stories

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

Internet services provided by NeoSoft.

Best viewed with 3.0 or higher