Fending them off

Sacred Heart slips past St. Ed’s in non-district action
Image

EUNICE-- This past Friday night the Sacred Heart Trojans took to the court against the St. Edmund Blue Jays in a non-district battle for bragging rights in this rivalry series.
After jumping out to a quick lead Sacred Heart was able to fend off a late St. Ed’s run to take down the Blue Jays 47-44.
With the win the Trojans move to 4-12 on the year and will not play until January 8 when they host Westminster Christian in their first district contest of the season.
The game began with both teams trying to find a soft spot in their opponent’s defense. Sacred Heart and St. Ed’s each took turns missing baskets until the Trojan’s Jacques Leger nailed a three-point bucket with 6:22 left in the opening period.
After a St. Ed’s basket just 24 seconds later, Sacred Heart reeled off four more points to take a 7-2 lead. The Blue Jays cut that lead down to two on a three point basket by Henry Brown.
The teams exchanged buckets over the next three minutes of the quarter until the Trojans knocked down a two-point shot with 1:16 left to take a 15-10 lead. St. Ed’s did have a chance to cut into the advantage, but failed to hit on two free throws with 27 seconds to go in the period.
Two made free throws and a two-point basket allowed the Blue Jays to slice into the Sacred Heart edge to begin the second quarter. Following a Trojan made free throw, St. Ed’s tied the game up at 16-16 with 4:46 left in the period.
Sacred Heart built the lead back up over the next two minutes on baskets by Bryce Deville, Jack Lahaye and a free throw by Gabe Courville. However, a two-point bucket at the buzzer allowed the Blue Jays to close the gap to three, 23-20, as the teams headed into the locker room.
The first non-charity stripe points of the third quarter came when Sacred Heart’s Tanner Bergeron his a bucket with 3:55 left to make it a 26-22 game in favor of the Trojans. St. Ed’s tied the game back up 26-26 with two made free throws and a two-point basket at the 3:03 mark.
A wild end to the period saw the teams punch and counter punch their way to a 28-28 tie with 1:35 left in the quarter. Sacred Heart’s Tyler Perron hit a two-point shot with 45 seconds on the clock to pick up the final basket of the quarter and give the Trojans a 30-28 lead.
Sacred Heart came out in the final quarter like they were shot out of a cannon. A 10-2 run, that included two three-point baskets by Leger, gave the Trojans a 40-30 lead with 3:54 to go in the contest.
Sacred Heart increased that advantage to 45-32 over the next 1:23 seconds. Nevertheless, St. Ed’s would not go away easily.
Getting to the foul line, the Blue Jays slowly worked their way back into the game, cutting the Trojan lead down to five, 45-40, with 1:35 left in the game. From that point on, it was a battle of free throws, as both teams were in the bonus down the stretch.
Over the last minute, St. Ed’s out shot Sacred Heart hitting on all four of their free throws, while the Trojans were two-for-six at the charity stripe. Following a missed Sacred Heart free throw with six seconds left, St. Ed’s was able to dribble the length of the floor and get off a three-point attempt to tie the game. Fortunately, the ball went wide of the target, allowing the Trojans to pick up the win.
Leger led the way for Sacred Heart with 15 points.