Tuesday night the Ville Platte Bulldogs hosted a District 6-2A game against the Welsh Greyhounds. Both the boys’ and the girls’ teams took the court to hoping to gain some ground as they work towards their spot in the playoffs.
Fortunately for the Bulldogs they did just that as they both claimed victory over the opposing Greyhounds. The games were well played both offensively and defensively leading the girls to a close game with a 59-55 victory and the boys with a huge 63-43 final score.
The Lady Bulldogs moved to 6-10 on the year and 1-2 in district play, while the Bulldogs are 11-9 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
Both teams will host Lake Arthur on Friday.
In the girls’ game, neither team could get much going offensively, as Ville Platte only led 9-5 at the end of one quarter of play. However, that offensive trend did not remain, as Welsh exploded for 22 points in the second period to take a 27-18 lead heading into the locker room.
Even though the Lady Bulldogs began the third quarter nine points down, the gap was not that far out of reach, but much work still had to be done in order to take control of the game.
It was at that point in the battle that Ville Platte put their heads down and began to go to work. The Lady Bulldogs scored some much needed baskets, producing a total of 21 points in the third quarter.
Welsh was quickly overwhelmed as Ville Platte’s girls left little room for success, only allowing 11 points to be scored by the Lady Greyhounds. When the buzzer sounded the tables had turned as the Bulldogs then led by one, 39-38.
With only a very minimal lead, the fight was far from over for Ville Platte as the two teams began the final eight minutes of play. Halfway through the fourth quarter Ville Platte found themselves up by only four, 49-45, knowing they must do something more to seal the deal.
The Lady Bulldogs respond perfectly as they used the final four minutes to maintain their advantage. Close was not close enough for the Lady Greyhounds, as Ville Platte was able to walk away with the huge district win.
Jakiah Thomas led all scorers in the game, knocking down 27 points. La’Jaia Leday added 18 points in the Ville Platte victory.
At the start of boys’ game, Welsh came out on fire knocking down two quick baskets. Ville Platte did not yield to the rapid assault from the Greyhounds, as they found themselves to the basket three times over the next 40 seconds to tie the game at 6-6.
With the game in full force, it looked like the Greyhounds were going to be the better team, as they went up by nine points, 15-6, with 2:30 left in the initial quarter. Changing the pace, Ville Platte not only closed the gap, but also grabbed the lead, 16-15, with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter.
The second quarter was nothing like the first quarter, as the momentum had definitely shifted in Ville Platte’s favor. In the first four minutes of the period, the Bulldogs landed 11 points to stretch out their advantage.
Welsh was quickly left behind in the period, as the Greyhounds could only manage to put up five points for the remainder of the first half. The two teams headed for the break with Ville Platte on top 36-20.
The second half only got grimmer for Welsh, as the dominant Bulldogs continued to land basket after basket. Ville Platte would close out the third quarter of play with an additional 17 points added to their score and lead 53-31 as the horn sounded.
By the fourth and final quarter the Bulldogs decided to give their bench players a little time to shine as they now led the game by over 20 points. Once on the court even the substitutes could not be stopped, as Ville Platte finished off the Greyhounds.
Brandon Veazie led Ville Platte with 11 points, while Ernest Roberts knocked down 10 points.
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CALEB FORET