Ville Platte Boys split in 5-3A contests

Being in District 5-3A is tough, but the Ville Platte High Bulldogs knew it would be. With a district that houses Church Point, Northwest, Livonia, Pine Prairie and Port Barre, it was going to be a very competitive to say the least. Port Barre is currently leading the district, but only by a slim margin.
Ville Platte High beat Church Point 75-68 at CPHS. Ville Platte took a commanding lead early in the first period and did not let up. They rained down 24 points over the Bears. Alex Gooden caught fire and rained a trio of three point shots. Gooden went on to lead the Bulldogs with 25 points. Mitchell Seraille added eight points in the frame and that helped the Dogs stay out in front.
Ville Platte High kept up the pressure in the second period. They out scored the Bears 19-15, despite a valiant effort from Church Point. Gooden added another three-point shot and Kendall Ardoin hit back-to-back lay-ups. As the half came to a close, Ville Platte got better and better at the free throw line. They were eight of 10 from the line, which really kept CPHS on their heels. Alex Citizen hit a pair of three point shots in the frame for CPHS and led the Bears with 21 points in the game.
Ville Platte held a 43-32 lead as the second half began. However, the home team would surge back on the shooting of Jaylon Kelly. Kelly sank nine points in the period and helped Church Point out-score Ville Platte for the first time in the game. The home team out shot VPHS 20-15. It was a momentum switch, but not one that would isolate the game for the Bears.
Gooden helped the Bulldogs remain in the game with another three-point shot, two free throws and a bucket. Ernest Ardoin also hit a three-point and a bucket.
With the contest closer, Ville Platte High had to refocus and win the final period. They were still up 58-52, but Church Point had a lot of momentum going. The two teams entered into a see-saw battle. Bucket after bucket, each team gave themselves a fair chance at winning the game. Seraille set the pace with three straight buckets. He went on to have 18 points overall in the game. His efforts on defense were big also. He forced three turnovers in the final period alone. Gooden was perfect from the free-throw line and hit a pair of buckets. As the period came to a close, Ardoin hit another bucket and ended his game with 11 points.
After holding on in a close game and getting the win, the Bulldogs had to go back to Ville Platte and host Northwest. The Raiders would pose a very tough match-up for VPHS, despite a tough home crowd in Ville Platte.
The contest started off right away in a see saw battle. The Raiders out-scored the Bulldogs 17-16 in a period that really flew by. Gooden was a long range bomber again for the Bulldogs. He hit three long distance shots in the opening period. He accumulated 18 points in the game overall. JaQualen Doucet added three points of his own and ended the game with 11 points.
In the second period, the home team fired back. VPHS scored 22 points and grabbed a ton of momentum. The Raiders would not be out matched. They put up 24 points, again being one bucket better than VPHS.
Ernest Ardoin turned things on. He scored 10 points in the frame and forced a pair of turnovers. He led the Bulldogs with 23 points in the game. Brandon Dommick added a three-point shot as the period came to a close to give the Bulldogs some momentum going into the halftime, despite being down 41-38.
The close game tempo did not change in the second half. The back-to-back bucket exchange went all the way through the end of the half.
In the third period, Ville Platte’s Ardoin hit another three-point shot and Gooden added a pair of buckets. Kendall Ardoin sank three points in the frame. Northwest still was one point better. They out scored the Bulldogs 15-14.
The final period was going to push both teams, especially on defense. The two teams did all they could to stop the other one from scoring.
For the fourth time, Northwest would out score VPHS by one point. The Raiders out shot the Bulldogs 17-16 in the block. Ernest Ardoin hit back-to-back three-point bombs. Doucet hit another three-point shot and had a total of eight points in the period.
When it was all said and done, the Raiders were just four points better than the Bulldogs. They won the game 72-68.
Ville Platte fell to 10-13 overall and 2-2 on the year. Ville Platte goes to Pine Prairie tomorrow night to take on their cross parish rivals.