St. Augustine Rises Above Jesuit in Touted Catholic League Match Up

Twitter @drewrobison

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

St. Augustine High School- New Orleans

Coach Mitchell Johnson’s Purple Knights were more than ready for a formidable Jesuit Blue Jays team on Tuesday night. Entering the game, St. Aug was 24-2 and Jesuit 21-3. At the St. Augustine home of Watson Jones Memorial Gym, the atmosphere was as great as any high school basketball game could be. Bleachers packed on both sides, student sections full, and the BAND. The Purple Knights band was so good and so loud before the game, it was hard to hear your own thoughts.

But after the grand pre-game intros, the hype gave way to the Purple Knights’ play on the court. They were the better team, earning a convincing 65-46 win, and establishing themselves as the clear front runners to win the Catholic League of New Orleans.

The first quarter was an indicator of what was more to come. St. Aug’s Devon Jefferson lead the scoring with 7… his last score a breakaway dunk with authority after a Blue Jay turnover, resulting in a Jesuit timeout with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter. Jesuit was trailing by eleven, 17-6. They set up a patient half-court possession, but missed on a contested mid-range jump shot with a few seconds left.

Jesuit battled and played with heart, and won the second quarter 16-14, and going into halftime trailing 31-22. Elijah Morgan at point guard led the Blue Jays with 11 points in the first half. He earned every point, as the Purple Knight’s defense was relentless fighting over the top of picks and not allowing any uncontested shots. Jesuit was simply unable to get a step ahead on the dribble and occasionally found a dribble-drive and kick out three, or a back door cut to the rim.

Darius Henry found the hot hand for St. Aug in the 3rd quarter, mainly from behind the arc. He had 14 points after three quarters and finished the game with 16. The Purple Knights increased their lead to 17 going into the final period, 48-31.

It was Jefferson again in the fourth that got the Purple Knights to a 22-point lead with an open three pointer from the corner. He finished the game with 15 points. Point guard Damon Landry took control in the final minutes, handling the ball and working the clock for St. Aug to the final buzzer and the win, 65-46.

For Jesuit, Morgan finished with 19, while Nick Artigues and Noah Vernado added 8 each. St. Aug’s Henry had 16, Jefferson 15, Landry 7, while Jalvin Mitchell put in 8 and D’Mari Wiltz scored 7.

Jesuit falls to 21-4 overall, 3-2 in the league. They will host Brother Martin on January 18 next. St Augustine improves to 25-2 overall and 4-0 in league play. Next up is also on the 18th at John Curtis.

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