Blue Jays soar past Bearcats

By Tom Dodge
tom.dodge@eunicetoday.com

The St. Edmund Blue Jays won their 2013 home-opener in fine fashion with a 60-45 victory over the Basile Bearcats Tuesday.
Basile (0-4) jumped out to a 6-0 lead before St. Edmund (2-3) rallied to retake the early advantage.
Kyle Dupre scored on a put-back bucket and Stone LeJeune scored off a steal to close the gap to 9-8 with 1:23 left in the first period.
The Blue Jays closed the quarter with a 6-0 run including a free throw by Dupre, two more from Drew Brown and a trey at buzzer by Christian McFarlain.
Basile’s Mark Ivory drove the lane to open the second period and closed the gap to 14-11 as the two teams battled for control.
Dupre and Kyle Verdugo scored underneath for the Blue Jays before Ivory drilled a three-pointer.
McFarlain scored eight points in the final five minutes including back-to-back treys to give the Blue Jays a 27-17 advantage.
Verdugo closed the St. Edmund run with a drive in the lane before Ivory hit a free throw in the closing seconds to close the Jays’ halftime lead to 29-18.
The Basile bench was given a technical foul after the buzzer which St. Edmund quickly took advantage of as Drew Brown hit two three throws and LeJeune drained a trey for a 34-18 lead.
After Ivory scored a trey, LeJeune hit three free throws on an intentional foul to give the Jays a 37-20 advantage.
The Bearcats closed the first half with a 15-6 run, sparked by nine points from Ivory as Basile closed the Jays’ lead to 43-35 heading into the final period.
A trey from Brown and another from Basile’s Gabe Fontenot was the two shots from the field early in the quarter.
Drives in the lane by Verdugo, Cullen Brown and LeJeune pushed the Jays ahead, 53-43 midway through the period.
After a bucket by Basile’s Kendrick Ceaser, the Blue Jays went on a 7-0 run sparked by shots from Verdugo and LeJeune to cap off the win.
McFarlain and Lejeune led the Jays with 15 points, while Brown chipped in 10 points.
Verdugo had eight points and Dupre contributed six points.
Dylan Beiber and Cullen Brown had two points, while William Chachare chipped in a free throw.
The Blue Jays made six treys and went 16-of-40 at the charity stripe.
Ivory led Basile with 22 points, while Gabe Fontenot and Hunter Aucoin chipped in seven points before both fouling out.
St. Edmund will entertain East Beauregard on Tuesday.

Basile 45, St. Edmund 36
The early season struggles continued for the Lady Jays as the Basile Lady Bearcats earned a 45-36 victory over St. Edmund on Tuesday night.
With the win, Basile improved to 3-3 overall, while St. Edmund fell to 0-5.
The Lady Jays opened the game with a 5-1 run, aided by buckets from Sydney Thibodeaux and Payton Crowell.
Samatha Bertrand later drained a trey, while Margaret Vidrine and Crowell added buckets to push the Lady Jays ahead, 12-7 midway through the quarter.
Basile responded with a 7-0 run to grab a 14-12 advantage before Bertrand hit another trey and a jumper to give the Lady Jays a 17-14 advantage.
Maggie McGee hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the period to tie the game, 17-17.
The Lady Cats grabbed the upper-hand with a 12-3 run in the second frame, sparked by six points from Kylie Johnson.
St. Edmund’s Maddie Andrus scored on a baseline jumper in the final minute to close the gap to 27-20.
DaQuana Deville then hit a bucket with four seconds left to lift the Lady Cats to a 29-20 halftime advantage.
Basile opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run, including a trey by McGee for a 16-point lead.
The Lady Jays responded with a 6-0 surge to close the period, including buckets from Vidrine and Andrus and two free throws from Kelli Richard.
The Lady Jays closed the gap to 38-30 early in the fourth quarter when Crowell hit a jumper and later added a free throw.
Basile then put the game out of reach with a 5-0 run, including four points from Johnson for a 43-30 advantage with 3:22 left.
St. Edmund closed the game with a 7-2 run, sparked by four points by Thibodeaux.
Crowell led the Lady Jays with nine points, while Thibodeaux and Bertrand each added eight points.
Andrus chipped in five points, followed by Vidrine (4) and Richard (2).
Johnson led Basile with 21 points, while Deville and McGee each contributed eight points.
After participating in the Elton tournament, St. Edmund will entertain East Beauregard on Tuesday.