In Tuesday night’s District 6-5A opener, the Hahnville High School boys basketball team held off parish rival Destrehan 65-58. The Tigers’ quick moves on defense proved to be their golden ticket for a win against the Wildcats.
In a packed HHS gym, Jared Kinsey led the Tigers with 25 points, and Desmond Raymond followed with 10. They were the only two Tigers to reach double digits, but other team members contributed to the victory.
DHS’ Roosevelt Johnson, who led all scorers by 30 points, was the powerhouse the Tigers needed to defend. Wildcat Wynrick Smothers added 15, but only three other Wildcats scored.
Hahnville proved to be the better team in their match up against Destrehan. They never trailed.
The Tigers led 12-4 after the first quarter, led by 10 heading into the final period and was only threatened by Destrehan with 1:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Coach Brian Lumar credits the win to his team’s ability to step it up defensively, noting that the team cleaned up careless first-half turnovers and rallied together in the second half.
Lumar adds that although the boys try to treat games against their rival like any other game, it’s hard because level of energy is so different.
“We expect Destrehan to come in here and give us a fight,” he said. “We just feel like we really have to defend home court, especially in this district.”
While the boys team packed in more of a punch against the Wildcats, HHS’ girls team feel to their opponent 62-43.
Paige Rochelle led all scorers with 21 points, while center Ladaisha Smith scored 19 points and Tawanna Lee added 15.
Hahnville got 12 points from Jamara Celistan and 11 from Kaelynn Boyd.
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