Taking advantage

VILLE PLATTE-For the Ville Platte Bulldogs the 2015-16 basketball season has definitely been a roller coaster ride.
That turbulent season took another dip here Friday night as Ville Platte could not overcome a third quarter run by the Port Barre Red Devils in a disappointing 72-61 loss.
With the setback, Ville Platte falls to 9-10 on the season and 3-4 in District 5-3A.
There is no doubt that the Bulldogs have faced some stiff competition this season. But, no matter who Ville Platte has gone up against, one theme has resonated for head coach Tommy Jones; defense.
“Defense is the name of the game,” said Jones. “You cannot win if you do not play good defense. That was the situation again tonight. We did not play good enough defense to win this game. Whether we played a zone or man-to-man, we just did not rotate on defense and they took advantage of it.”
The opening quarter did not bode well for either team, as Ville Platte only led 9-4 with three minutes left.
However, things began to get exciting, with each squad beginning to find an offensive groove.
Two free throws by Shanicole Holland gave the Bulldogs a 13-10 lead with only 21 seconds left in the initial quarter.
Port Barre took the ball over the half court line and worked the clock down for the last shot, a buzzer beating two-point basket that brought the Red Devils within one, 13-12.
The second quarter was reminiscent of the first, as the two teams could not muster much on the offensive side of the court.
Port Barre scored a quick bucket to take a 14-13 lead early in the quarter, but did not score again until the 5:27 mark to make the score 16-13.
Ville Platte managed to regain the lead, going on a 5-0 run.
The Red Devils took over the lead at the 2:15 mark on a basket by Eastin Shelvin.
Ville Platte answered right back with a three-point bucket by Shanicole Holland with two minutes left in the half. That would be the last basket by either team, as the Bulldogs took a 21-20 lead into the locker room.
With the anemic scoring on each side, the game seemed that it would be decided by whichever team could gain some semblance of an offense in the second half. Unfortunately for Ville Platte, that team was Port Barre.
The Red Devils opened the third quarter with a renewed since of patience on offense, carefully waiting for their best shot.
That patience paid off as Port Barre went on a 12-4 run to begin the second half and took a 32-25 lead at the 4:08 mark.
Ville Platte tried to crawl back into the game, but every time the Bulldogs looked like they were poised to make a run, Port Barre was their with a response.
By the time the buzzer has sounded to end the third quarter, it was obvious that Ville Platte would need to grind it out in the final quarter, as Port Barre now held a 45-37 lead.
“They had a big third quarter, scoring 25 points,” stated Jones. “I thought that they did not shoot the ball well in the first half and was hoping that would continue in the second half. But, again because of our poor defensive effort, it allowed them to get some momentum on offense.”
To Ville Platte’s credit, they did not fold up the tents in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs continued to fight to get back into the game.
But, a combination of Port Barre’s methodical, effective offensive strategy and a not so hot shooting night for Ville Platte proved to be the dagger in the heart for the Bulldogs.
With Port Barre leading 65-53 with two minutes left, Ville Platte was forced to send the Red Devils to the line. Port Barre answered going eight for nine at the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win.
Holland was the only Bulldog in double digits scoring 21 in the loss.
Ville Platte’s season does not get any easier, as they will host Northwest on Monday night in a key district game.
The Bulldogs are needing a win to stay in the playoff race and stay at their current unofficial power point ranking of 27