Pirates win, Lady Pirates lose against Morgan City

KAPLAN - The Kaplan Pirates defeated the Morgan City Tigers 42-27 at B.J. Bordelon Gym Tuesday night.

Kaplan stormed out the gate, opening the game on a 17-0 run. Senior Devante Davis scored 11 of those points as the tenacious Pirates’ defense forced Morgan City into several turnovers and Davis capitalized in transition
with easy buckets. He also nailed Kaplan’s only 3-pointer with a Tiger paw in his face.

Marquis Green finally got Morgan City on the scoreboard when he sank a 3-pointer of his own with only 25.9 seconds left in the quarter. After the first period, Kaplan held a 17-3 advantage and looked like they were going to run the Tigers out of the gym.

As for what happened in the second quarter, Kaplan head coach Jeff Davis replied, “That’s a good question.”

The defense stopped forcing turnovers causing the easy buckets to disappear and the Pirates could not find their rhythm on offense in the half court.

“I think we became content,” said Devante Davis. “We became too comfortable with the early lead and lost our focus. It’s not anything they were doing. We were stopping ourselves.”

“I believe and the team believes we can do anything we set our minds to as long as we don’t stop ourselves,” he continued. “That’s one thing I like about our team. We believe in each other. We just have to stay focused
all four quarters and we’ll be fine.”

Even without much offense or turnovers, Kaplan still dominated the rebounding department and limited the Tigers’ opportunities to score. The two teams combined to score only 12 points in the second quarter as Kaplan
took a 22-10 lead into the break.

Despite their continued struggles on offense in the second half, Kaplan never allowed the Tigers to get within 11 points. The third quarter ended in a 9-9 draw, leaving Kaplan ahead 31-19 going into the final stanza.

“Offensively, we are a work in progress.” Devante Davis explained. “Our chemistry is getting where we need it to be, but it’s a process. Sometimes that process leads to nights like tonight where we just aren’t on the same
page at the same time.”

“Our goal on offense is to become one mentally,” he continued. “It takes time for that to develop. We will continue to work hard and when it does happen, whoever steps on the court with us will have big problems.”

In the fourth period, Morgan City scored their only 2-point field goal of the game. Coach Davis credited his defense with not allowing the Tigers to get any offensive rebounds for that amazing statistic.

“They made that one 2-point basket and one free throw the entire game,” he explained. “After the first period we didn’t force many turnovers, but we didn’t give them any points, either. The only shots they had were from
the outside. That’s great defense and great rebounding.”

Jalen Bates recorded his third dunk of the game while absorbing a foul with 48.1 seconds remaining. He made the free throw to stretch the lead to 38-24. Darius Jordan and Brady Mott combined to make all four of their free
throws down the stretch as the Pirates’ lead ballooned to 42-24 with 6.7 seconds left in the game. Morgan City made another 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to provide the final score.

Devante Davis and Bates each recorded a double-double. Davis finished with a game-high 16 points and 13 rebounds. Bates added 11 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and three blocks. Jordan chipped in eight points,
while Kaylon Rudd recorded four points and six boards. Mott finished with three points and seven rebounds.

Morgan City....47
Kaplan.............33

In the early game, the Kaplan Lady Pirates fell to the Morgan City Lady Tigers by the score of 47-33.

Casey Chenevert scored 25 points for the Lady Tigers, including five 3-pointers. Three of them came in the first period as Morgan City raced out to a 15-5 lead.

The Lady Pirates held Chenevert to only two points in the second quarter, but Morgan City still managed to win the quarter 12-9 to take a 27-14 lead at the half.

In the third, Chenevert erupted for nine more points as the Lady Tigers extended their lead to 40-24. Kaplan won the final quarter 9-7 to provide the final score.

Kailey LeJeune led Kaplan with 10 points. Lexi Breaux finished with eight. Caroline Touchet had six, while Lauren Touchet added four. Janayla Leonard and Dacota Marceaux each scored two points off the bench. Dayne
Bass had one point to complete the scoring.

Both teams will be back in action Friday night at B.J. Bordelon Gym, hosting the Berwick Panthers.

Rosco Harrington
Sports Correspondant