Sacred Heart bounced from playoffs by St. John’s

PLAQUEMINE -- It has been a struggle all year long for the Sacred Heart Trojans, and Friday night was no different as they were bounced from the Division IV playoffs by the St. John’s Eagles in a 75-31 loss.
Sacred Heart finishes the year with an overall record of 1-26.
St. John’s wasted no time in putting Sacred Heart out of reach. The Eagles, behind the scoring of senior guard Devin Brock led 10-3 after the first four minutes of play.
St. John’s continued to dominate in the first quarter, taking a 14-8 lead as the initial period came to a close. Brock dropped in 10 of those 18 points scored by the Eagles.
Jacques Leger nailed down a three-pointer and a free throw in the opening period to lead the Trojans.
The scoring woes continued for Sacred Heart in the second quarter. By the 2:44 mark of the period, the Eagles had expanded their advantage to 28 points, 36-8.
The Trojans’ Jack LaHaye scored a late bucket to make the score 36-10. Unfortunately, that would be the only two points that Sacred Heart would muster in the period. When the buzzer sounded to end the first half, St. John’s led 42-10.
The third quarter was a whole lot better for the Trojan offense. Spreading the ball around a lot more, Sacred Heart was able to stay stride for stride with St. John’s for the first two minutes of the period. With just under six minutes to go in the quarter, Sacred Heart’s Wyatt Fontenot nailed a two-point basket. Never-the-less, the Eagles held a 50-16 lead.
However, Brock and the rest of the St. John’s team continued to pressure the Trojans defensively, allowing the Eagles to extend their lead even farther in the period. When the dust had settled, St. John’s had out paced Sacred Heart 25-11 to own a 67-21 lead.
The lone bright spot offensively for the Trojans in the game came in the final quarter. With the contest pretty much decided, Sacred Heart was able to string together a decent fourth quarter.
Jalen Deville knocked down a three-point basket and two free throws to help the Trojans out score the Eagles 10-8 in the final period. Also collecting points in the period were Gaige Thille, Tanner Bergeron and Leger.
Deville and Leger were the high scorers for the Trojans with five points each. Thille, Fontenot, Bergeron and Lahaye all chipped in four points.
“Despite our record this year, the players put out a great effort all season long,” stated Sacred Heart head coach Chris Rider. “Hopefully, we can build on our positives for next season.”