Taming the Mustangs

MOREAUVILLE -- Both the Ville Platte High Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs came to Avoyelles High School this past Friday night hoping to tame their respective Mustang opponents in hopes of picking up another valuable win before the district season starts in full force.
Unfortunately only one of the Ville Platte teams could do much wrangling, as the Bulldogs were able to turn a 24-6 first quarter advantage into a 79-54 route, while the Lady Bulldogs were only able to grab a lead twice in a 43-34 loss to the Lady Mustangs.
With the win, the Bulldogs are now 12-1 on the season and were scheduled to begin play in the Northwest High Holiday Tournament yesterday.
The Lady Bulldogs fall to 5-7 on the season after the loss and were also scheduled to begin play in the Northwest Tournament yesterday.
In the girl’s contest, Avoyelles got the party started by dropping the first four points of the game. However a three-point basket by Kaydon Coward cut the lead down to 4-3.
The two teams exchanged baskets with Ville Platte taking a 7-6 lead on a bucket by Alyssa Fontenot. The Lady Mustangs took advantage of a couple of Lady Bulldog turnovers to put up the final four points of the quarter to own a 10-7 edge as the first quarter came to a close.
Ville Platte opened the second quarter on a 5-1 run, with all five points scored by Coward, to capture their second and last lead of the game. From that point on in the period, Avoyelles took full advantage of their size to bust loose on a 13-2 run over the remaining seven minutes and put a grip on a 24-14 lead as the teams went into the locker room.
The Lady Bulldogs came out with new life in the third quarter. But, it seemed that every time they tried to make a run the Lady Mustangs had an answer.
The ten point lead that Avoyelles had at the end of the half grew to 14 with three minutes remaining in the period. By the time the quarter had come to a close, the Lady Mustangs owned a 34-23 lead over Ville Platte.
A strong effort to begin the final quarter of play allowed the Lady Bulldogs to cut the Avoyelles lead down to six, 35-29, with 4:45 to go in the game. Never-the-less the Lady Mustangs continued to put pressure on Ville Platte and were able to fend off the Lady Bulldogs in the end.
Alyssa Soileau and Coward both scored 12 points to lead Ville Platte on the night.
If the girl’s game was a fight to the end, the boy’s game was a complete contradiction in terms of play. From the start, Ville Platte showed their overall quickness advantage and their superiority on the boards as they put up six points before Avoyelles could get a basket.
The Bulldogs continued to put full court trapping pressure on the Mustangs, forcing a plethora of turnovers and easy transition buckets. By the time Avoyelles knew what hit them, Ville Platte had a 24-6 lead as the first quarter closed out.
That lead expanded to 25 points over the first 3:24 seconds of the second quarter, as the Bulldogs relentless defense continued to produce turnovers and points. By the time the horn had sounded to end the first half, Ville Platte held a commanding 43-20 lead over Avoyelles.
Even with the Mustang’s newly found sense of urgency to try and cut into the huge Bulldog advantage, Ville Platte would not allow Avoyelles to gain any momentum. The closest the Mustangs could get to the Bulldogs in the third quarter was 15 points with 2:40 on the clock. As the third period ended, Ville Platte was still in control and owned a 58-43 lead.
The fourth and final quarter of the game was just a rehash of the first three quarters. As the clock continued to run and the Ville Platte lead remained above 20 points, the two teams eventually emptied their benches until the closing seconds ticked off.
After the game, Bulldog head coach Tommy Jones spoke of his team’s play thus far.
“We are playing really well right now,” stated Jones. “Our defense has been on point all year long and that has made our offense so much better. I knew coming into the season that we had a veteran group and I was hoping they would play that way. So far, they have proven that they are ready to take it to the next level, even against some pretty good competition.”
Three Bulldogs managed to score in double figures. Tyler Jones led the way for Ville Platte with 18 points, Terrian Roy contributed 14 points and Devonte Robert chipped in 10 points.