Kaplan wins in blowouts

KAPLAN – The Kaplan Pirates remained undefeated in 2014 by defeating the Berwick Panthers 53-30 at B.J. Bordelon Gym Friday.

Kaplan has now won three in a row as the district season inches closer.

“It’s great for the kids,” said head coach Jeff Davis. “They work hard and listen well. Winning makes things fun and the kids are enjoying it.”

Kaplan started slow as Berwick’s defense gave them a few problems. They employed a zone that basically bracketed Kaplan big-man Jalen Bates with their two post players.

Devante Davis scored the first eight points for the Pirates. He started the game off with a 3-pointer, then Berwick went on a run. Davis’ layup cut the Panthers lead to 9-5 with 3:47 to play in the quarter.

Cody Roberie answered for Berwick with his second bucket from downtown, making it 12-5 with 3:04 to go. Davis hit another trey to trim the lead back down to four and spark a Kaplan run. Blake Touchet scored in transition off a Panther turnover, and
then Davis found Bates with an alley-oop. The subsequent slam tied the score at 12-12.

Bates escaped again on the low post and drew a foul. He made 1-2 free throws to put Kaplan in front 13-12 with only 17 seconds to play. Tyvon Batiste caught Berwick’s wild shot attempt and laid in just before the quarter ended, ending the 8-0
Kaplan run and giving the Panthers the 14-13 lead after one.

“Against Morgan City Tuesday, we had a great first quarter,” explained Jeff Davis. “Tonight it was opposite. Berwick’s size and the way they guarded Jalen gave us some problems. Their 1-3-1 zone made us have to completely change offenses.”

Over the first four minutes of the second quarter, the Pirates outscored Berwick 6-4 to claim a 19-18 lead. Devante Davis buried his third 3-pointer of the half with 3:38 remaining, sparking the Pirates’ 10-0 run to close out the first half. Brady Mott’s 3-
pointer with 49 seconds left made it 29-18 at the break.

Kaplan stretched the run to 16-0 over the first three minutes of the third quarter. Davis, Kaylon Rudd and Blake Touchet all scored easy baskets off Berwick turnovers. Cody Roberie made his third 3-pointer of the game to end the Panthers’ scoring
drought. With 4:39 to play in the period, Kaplan led 35-21.

Over the next four minutes the Pirates went on another 10-0 spurt with Rudd and Mott scoring all 10 points. Audurn Williams scored for Berwick with 40 seconds to go, making the score 45-23 going into the final period.

Kaplan outscored the Panthers 8-7 in the fourth to provide the final score.

“We got a little sloppy with the ball in the fourth quarter,” Davis said. “We tried slow things down and run some time off the clock. We ended up with 13 turnovers, but we also had 13 steals.”

Devante Davis finished with a game-high 17 points as four Pirates reached double figures. He also tallied four rebounds and three steals. Touchet finished with 12 points, six assists and four steals. Mott scored 11 and added three steals. Rudd had
10 points.

The Pirates host a tough Jennings team Monday. It’s boys action only with JV tipping off at 5:15 p.m.

Kaplan............49
Berwick..........12

The Kaplan Lady Pirates snapped an 11 game skid by mauling the Berwick Lady Panthers 49-12 at B.J. Bordelon Gym Friday night.

Berwick took a 1-0 lead by making 1-2 free throws as Kaplan earned a technical foul before the game even started. After that, it was all Lady Pirates.

Kailey LeJeune scored all of her game-high 12 points in the opening period as the Lady Pirates came out red-hot shooting the ball. At the end of the first, Kaplan led 22-1.

They added 15 more in the second, while Berwick only managed to score five. Six different Lady Pirates scored in the period, led by Lauren Touchet with four points. At the break Kaplan held a convincing 37-6 lead.

Kaplan had 11 different players score in the game. After LeJeune, Caroline Touchet led the way with 8 points. Dayne Bass tallied seven, while Lexi Breaux, Lauren Touchet and Dayne Bass each added four. Dacotah Marceaux added three points, while
Kendra Gums, Caroline Guidry and Janayla Leonard all scored two. Blair Hebert scored one point.

“I’m happy for the girls,” said head coach Courtney Hargrave of them ending the losing streak. “We finally played up to our potential. We shot the ball well and rebounded great. For the first time in a while, we ended a game smiling. Hopefully, it’ll give
them confidence going into district next week.”

The Lady Pirates open District 6-3A play on the road Wednesday as they travel to Abbeville to face the Lady Cats.

Rosco Harrington
Sports Correspondant