Tigers claw ‘Dogs

Ville Platte loses chance at share of district lead
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VILLE PLATTE -- After losing to the Lake Arthur Tigers in their first district contest of the season, the Ville Platte Bulldogs came into the “Dog Pound” Friday night hoping to get some revenge on the Tigers and claim a share of first place in the league title chase.
But, a frigid night shooting the ball and not being able to keep Lake Arthur off of the glass put a damper on those hopes, as the Bulldogs fell 62-48 in a hard fought loss.
That loss put the Bulldogs at 11-1 on the year and 2-2 in district play.
Meanwhile, in the first game of the night, the Ville Platte Lady Bulldogs faced a tough challenge, as they tried to knock off the No. 2 seeded Lake Arthur Lady Tigers. That task proved just a little too daunting for the Lady Bulldogs, as the Lady Tigers walked away with a 70-30 win.
Ville Platte dropped to 6-11 on the season and 1-3 in league play.
In the boys’ game, Ville Platte took the opening tip and proceeded to jump out to a 9-4 lead in the first two and a half minutes of the contest. But the three-quarter court pressure put on by Lake Arthur caused some problems for the Bulldogs over the ensuing 45 seconds.
During that span, the Tigers reeled off seven unanswered points to take an 11-9 lead. Ville Platte managed to find enough spacing to break the press in the final 2:30 of the quarter and ended the period on a 7-0 run themselves to own a 16-11 lead.
Lake Arthur knocked down the first shot of the second quarter, but Ville Platte’s Brandon Veazie responded with a three-point basket. Nevertheless, the Tigers kept the squeeze on the Bulldogs, allowing them to go on a 12-0 spurt, giving them a 25-19 lead with 3:13 left before the half.
Ville Platte tried to answer, cutting the lead back down to three points on a Tayvon Wilson basket with only 18 seconds left in the period. However, Lake Arthur nailed a three-point try at the buzzer to end the second quarter holding a 30-24 advantage.
The start of the third quarter was not kind to the Bulldogs, as the Tigers busted out on a 9-0 run. Ville Platte would return the favor, picking up the next seven points, including another three-pointer from Veazie. With only 1:43 remaining in the period, the Tigers held a 39-31 lead.
The final minutes of the quarter found both teams trading baskets. When the period had come to a conclusion, Lake Arthur clung to an eight point margin, 43-35.
Ville Platte had a ton more fight left in themselves to begin the fourth quarter. Tyler Jones hit two quick buckets in the first minute of the period to cut the Tiger lead down to four, 43-39. Unfortunately, Lake Arthur just refused to let the Bulldogs any more momentum, as they dashed past Ville Platte, scoring the next seven points.
For the rest of the game, Ville Platte could not work themselves back in the mix, as the Tiger defense and poor shooting killed any comeback bid.
Veazie led all Bulldogs with 11 points, while Ernest Roberts chipped in nine.
In the girls’ game, it was apparent from the tip-off that Ville Platte was out matched on the inside and in handling the ball. Lake Arthur’s defensive pressure gave the Lady Bulldogs fits all night long and caused several turnovers, leading to easy baskets.
The Lady Tigers opened the scoring by going on an 8-0 run in the first 2:42 of the game. Ville Platte’s first basket came via Jakiah Thomas at the 5:00 mark of the period.
The two clubs then exchanged buckets over the next three minutes, giving Lake Arthur a 12-6 advantage. But, the Lady Tigers continued to pick up the pace on the defensive side of the ball, allowing them to collect eight of the last eleven points of the quarter to lead 20-9.
Lake Arthur maintained their fast pace play in the second quarter, giving them a chance to score in spurts. The Lady Bulldogs gave the good fight the entire period, but could not gain any traction. By the time the second quarter had ended, the Lady Tigers were able to increase their margin to 19 points, 37-18.
The entire second half proved to be a carbon copy of the first half. Even with Lake Arthur subbing at will, Ville Platte could never bite into the huge Lady Tiger advantage.
Both the Bulldogs and the Lady Bulldogs will continue district action on Monday, as they travel to Crowley to take on Notre Dame.