Early exit for Dogs

BATON ROUGE – Let’s face it, when your opponent is more experienced and has more talent than you, all a coach can do is ask his players to battle and hope for the best.
That is what the Ville Platte High Bulldogs did Friday night as they had the unenviable task of taking on the two-time defending state champions, University High School.
Ville Platte threw the kitchen sink at U-High, but in the end the Cubs superior size and speed were just too much for the Bulldogs, as U-High took a 95-63 win.
“You have to tip your hat to them,” said Ville Platte head coach Tommy Jones. “They (U-High) have a great ball club. They are not the defending state champions for nothing.”
Even still, Ville Platte did not back down from their opponent. The Bulldogs opened the game with a mild case of the jitters in the first quarter.
U-High took took the opening tip and worked their inside-out game through the hands of LSU signee Wade Sims to an early 10-0 lead about halfway through the period.
Jones promptly called a time out to settle down his players and they responded.
At the 2:16 mark, Ville Platte’s Martin Jason hit a three-point basket to cut the Cub lead down to four, 13-9.
The Bulldogs continued to battle throughout the remainder of the quarter, keeping the game close. As the buzzer sounded to end the period, U-High only had a 22-16 advantage.
In the second quarter, Ville Platte tried to keep within striking distance of U-High. However, the length and athleticism of the Cubs began to take its toll on the Bulldogs.
By mid quarter, U-High had stretched the lead to 15 points, 35-20.
It seemed that every time Ville Platte would muster a comeback effort, the Cubs had an answer plus one.
When the horn sounded for the end of the first half, U-High had stretched their lead to 50-33.
A mild adjustment at halftime for the Cubs caused even more problems for Ville Platte.
U-High began the second half by extending their trapping zone to mid-court, which produced a number of Bulldog turnovers and a 10-2 Cub run.
From that point on, Ville Platte could not find their way back into the game. At the end of the third quarter, U-High had a resounding 82-44 lead and began to empty their bench in the final period.
“I was impressed with them (Ville Platte) in the first half,” said U-High head coach Joe Spencer. “I know they have a young team, but they played extremely hard. At halftime we decided to extend the zone to try and get us a little more active. We had to do that because they made it a ball game in the first half.”
Jones was also impressed with his team’s play.
“We came out and played well,” commented Jones. “There isn’t anything negative I can say. We were just out-manned in size. I thought we came out and played really hard. I was especially proud of our only senior, Kelian Semien. He made a name for himself tonight.”
Semien finished the night with 21 points.
Ville Platte ends the season at 10-17.