Tiger sophomore’s 19 points help Hahnville top Destrehan

Hahnville's Glenn Grover
Hahnville's Glenn Grover looks to pass, defended by Destrehan's J.R. Blood.

Hahnville avenged its district opening defeat to Destrehan, outscoring the Wildcats 43-23 in the second half of Friday night’s rematch to earn a 72-54 victory.

Sophomore Dylan Lorio’s 19 points led the way for a Tigers attack that saw four players score in double figures, including Glenn Grover with 14, Alonge McClain’s 12 and Kendall Pierre’s 10.

The win capped a week that brought a strong district haul to the Tigers (17-7, 3-2), who defeated the district’s defending champion H.L. Bourgeois by two on Tuesday night.

“We just had a big game against H.L., and I think that was a big momentum builder,” Lorio said. “We said in the locker room, we want the district. No ifs ands or buts about it. We work too hard to settle for less.”

Hahnville coach Yussef Jasmine said he challenged Lorio to step up before the game, and the coach was pleased with the results.

“I told him I wanted him to take a leadership role, and that can be hard for a 10th grader to accept,” Jasmine said. “But he did a real good job in the second half tonight.”

For the Wildcats (14-12, 3-4), J.R. Blood’s 15 points was tops on the team. Freddie Brown and Jalvin Michael each scored 10 and Kyle Edwards added eight.

Just as Destrehan did in the first game, it quickly established a lead early by starting the night on back to back 3 pointers by Blood and Michael.

A big turning point came late in the second quarter with Destrehan leading by seven, 31-24. Lorio drove to the basket and earned a 3-point play by drawing a foul, and then Kaden Pierre drew a foul and sank a pair of free throws. Suddenly, the Destrehan lead was two, 31-29, at halftime.

“The last 30 seconds of the second quarter, we’re up seven and I’m calling for the last shot,” Destrehan coach Todd Bourg said. “We take a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left. They come down and get 3, then we turn the ball over and they cut the lead to two. That was a big, big momentum changer.”

Hahnville came out hot behind baskets by Grover and McClain. A pair of free throws by Kendall Pierre helped push Hahnville’s lead to 38-33. A basket by Brown temporarily stopped the surge before HHS went on a quick 6-0 run, including four points by Grover. Back to back baskets by Lorio kicked the Tigers lead to double figures, and a 3-pointer by Claudell Harris made it a 13-point lead near the end of the third quarter.

Destrehan couldn’t regain its footing from there, as Hahnville eventually pushed its advantage to seal the 18-point victory.

For good reason, Jasmine likes the way his team is playing.

“When you have a team playing the way we’re playing, that can create things on offense and then come out and defend so well … when we defend, we’re tough to beat,” Jasmine said.

 

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