St. Aug continues win streak with district opening win over Holy Cross

NEW ORLEANS – St. Augustine sits atop the Division I power rankings, just ahead of 3-time defending state champion Scotlandville. Holy Cross is currently ninth.

A year ago, the Purple Knights and Holy Cross tied for the District 9-5A title at 10-2 as the rivals split their district contests.

St. Augustine advanced to the state final, losing to Scotlandville, while the Tigers fell in overtime in the quarterfinals to district rival Brother Martin.

A year later, the Purple Knights are red hot and have opened district play with a leg up on the Tigers.

St. Aug led virtually from wire-to-wire in a solid 56-45 victory over Holy Cross at the Holy Cross Gymnasium Tuesday evening. It was the 12th straight win for the Purple Knights, who lost only to Madison Prep (39-38) this season, thus far.

“We knew coming in it was going to be a tough match,” St. Augustine coach Mitchell Johnson said. “It’s the Catholic League. I’m always a firm believer that anything can happen in the Catholic League. We were able to make some shots and get some stops. Jaron Pierre did a good job of putting the ball in the hole and playing some great defense. They are a great transition team and we were trying to take that away. I’m pleased with our defense.”

The Purple Knights never trailed after being tied 2-2 early on.

After being tied at two, St. Augustine took control the remainder of the first quarter, taking a 14-8 lead. Holy Cross went to a 2-3 zone and the Purple Knights buried four 3-pointers, including three by Jaron Pierre.

The second quarter belonged to the Purple Knights as well, who closed the period on a 5-0 run. Ashton Trufant had a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter and finished the half with nine points while Pierre had 15 points and St. Aug had a solid 29-17 lead.

The Tigers had a 6-0 run in the third quarter to pull within six points and St. Aug led 40-32 after three quarters. Jeremy Lindsey had seven points in the quarter for the Tigers.

Holy Cross pulled with five points at 45-40 but would get no closer. The Purple Knights went on a 7-0 run to put the game away.

Pierre finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and two assists with a block while Jaheim Walters had 13 points and eight rebounds. Trufant had 12 points and three rebounds. The Purple Knights (17-1, 1-0) finished with eight 3-pointers, including four each by Pierre and Trufant.

“I came out, my team trusted me and I started hitting some shots,” Pierre said. “We are playing with confidence. We practice hard every day. My teammates are pushing me and I’m pushing them. We are all just playing together. We’re not trying to share anything (district title) this year. This team is capable of going far, to a state championship.”

Lindsey topped Holy Cross (12-8, 0-1) with 18 points and three rebounds while Aaron Ursin finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and a block.

Tigers coach Mister Kirkwood felt his team competed well but came up short in one area.

“We missed a lot of good shots tonight,” Kirkwood said. “St. Aug played some really, really good defense. They limit your second chance shots. If we hit shots, it’s a different outcome. I told the guys that as long as we were in striking distance, we had a shot. We just could not get a shot to fall. Ursin came up big enough. I’m super, super proud of him. It’s probably the best he’s played all year. There’s no question that is the team you have to beat in district.”

Both teams return to Catholic League play Friday night as St. Augustine hosts Archbishop Shaw while Holy Cross travels to River Ridge to face John Curtis Christian.

FINAL
SA 14 15 11 16 56
HC 8 9 15 12 45

Scoring:
St. Aug: Jaron Pierre 18, Jaheim Walters 13, Ashton Trufant 12, D’mari Wiltz 8 Jaden Clark 5

HC: Jeremy Lindsey 18, Aaron Ursin 12, Tyler Kirkwood 6, Michael White 3, Donnell Byrd 2, Miles Metze 2, Hunter Hidalgo 2