Destrehan’s shooting woes continue at East Ascension tournament

Destrehan has struggled holding on to late leads this season, which has the team is saddled with a 6-10 record.

Destrehan’s shooting woes continued at the East Ascension tournament last week, but the Wildcats were able to pull out one win – a 59-47 victory over Central Lafourche – to end the event.

Destrehan opened the tourney with a 60-46 loss to St. Amant and shot poorly from the field. The only bright spot for the Wildcats was Talvin Michael, who finished with 13 points.

"We shot the ball horribly," Destrehan head coach Todd Bourg said. "That’s been our problem all season."

Destrehan (6-10) struggled again in a 42-33 loss to Sulphur the next day, going 4-for-29 for the field. Only one Wildcat, Clifton Adams, finished in double figures with 12 points.

"I was not too happy with our effort," Bourg said.

But the Wildcats rebounded to beat Central Lafourche 59-47 in the final game. Destrehan’s Gary Johnson led all scorers with 24 points.

"We finally played decently and we shot the ball pretty well," Bourg said. "Gary is our leader out there and when he gets going we usually play well."

Despite the win, Bourg said his squad is not where they need to be with district play beginning on Jan. 8.

"We are off schedule. I knew it was going to be a struggle early," Bourg said. "Still, we could have actually won five or six more games where we were leading but lost down the stretch."

Those losses, including close ones against Christian Life, Amite, Parkview Baptist, Northshore and Higgins can be chalked up to inexperience. Destrehan lost eight players from last year and only returned two starters – Johnson and Keegan Joseph – this season.

"It’s frustrating when you are leading and guys don’t know how to hold on to it because they don’t have the experience," Bourg said. "They make bad decisions and don’t make free throws and that’s why we are 6-10. We could easily be 12-4 if we were able to hold on in those games."

While Bourg admits his squad has struggled, those close losses mean the team is capable of turning things around when district play begins.

"District is going to be wide open," Bourg said. "Everybody lost a lot from last year and I don’t see any team that is going to be overpowering."

Destrehan opens district play on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when they host John Ehret (5-8) at 6 p.m.