Rough night for Kaplan basketball

Lady Pirates

KAPLAN - The Kaplan Lady Pirates’ basketball team dropped a 26-18 decision to the Cecilia Lady Bulldogs Tuesday night a B.J. Bordelon Gym.

The Lady Pirates came from behind in the low-scoring affair, pulling to within 20-18 with 4:27 to play when Lauren Touchet intercepted a Lady Bulldog pass and raced down court for a layup. Cecilia then closed out the game on
a 6-0 run to seal the deal.

Kaplan head coach Courtney Hargrave thought her team played solid on both sides of the ball and will get better as the season progresses.

“Our girls need to mature,” Hargrave said. “We need to get some games under our belt. We shot the ball well and played good defense. We just need experience.”

The Lady Pirates started slow on offense, managing only a Dayne Bass field goal the entire first period. The Lady Bulldogs scored eight points to claim the early advantage.

In the second period, points were at a premium as the two teams combined to make only three buckets. Caroline Touchet hit two baseline-jumpers for Kaplan as they narrowed the gap to 10-6 at the break.

Another Touchet basket early in the third pulled Kaplan to within two at 10-8, but Cecilia answered with six straight points over a five minute span, stretching the lead to 16-8.

The Lady Pirates answered with buckets by Lauren Touchet and Kailey LeJeune inside the final minute of the third. Cecilia also hit one more shot to lead 18-12 heading to the fourth.

The Lady Pirates outscored Cecilia 6-2 to begin the fourth before the Lady Bulldogs managed to shut the door.

The Touchet sisters combine to score 12 of Kaplan’s 18 points in the game. Caroline led the way with eight, while Lauren dropped in four.

“The Touchets are two of our best shooters,” said Hargrave. “They are both new starters and they’re gaining confidence every game. I can’t say enough about their progress.”

Kaplan’s record stands at 2-1 on the season.

The Lady Pirates will return to action tomorrow night as they take part in the Delcambre High 10th Annual Lynette Viator Memorial Tournament.

Pirates

KAPLAN – The arrival of four starters and some depth from the gridiron wasn’t enough as the Kaplan Pirates lost 64-57 to the Cecilia Bulldogs at B.J. Bordelon Gym Tuesday night.

The Pirates started strong by outscoring Cecilia 10-2 over the last four minutes of the opening period to lead 18-13 after one. All five starters scored for Kaplan in the stanza. Blake Touchet, Darius Jordan and Devante Davis
each hit shots from beyond the three-point line.

The Bulldogs answered the bell in the second by going on an 8-2 run before tying the game at 21 with 3:53 remaining until halftime. The Pirates regained the lead on a Davis dunk with just under two minutes remaining, but
Cecilia drained a three with 13.2 seconds left to take a 28-27 lead into the locker room.

Only 46 seconds into the third period, Kaplan big-man Jalen Bates committed his third foul and headed to the bench, allowing Cecilia big-man Jeremy Wiltz to take over the game.

He led the Bulldogs on a 10-0 run before Davis connected on a free throw with 4:11 left in the third to give Kaplan its first point of the second half.

Wiltz outscored Kaplan 12-9 in the quarter as the Pirates could not stop his inside game without Bates. After three, Cecilia claimed a 49-36 advantage. The lead ballooned to 56-39 with just over four minutes to play.

But the Pirates did not go down without a fight. Bates scored six of his eight points in the final four minutes, including a thunderous dunk that got the Pirates’ motor going.

Touchet scored 11 of his team-high 21 in the final frame, including three shots from beyond the arc. His last with 11.8 seconds remaining to pull the Pirates within seven and provide the final score.

“Jalen came alive in the fourth and made it interesting,” said Kaplan head coach Jeff Davis. “Our football players have only had three practices, but give Cecilia credit. They forced turnovers and got rebounds and we
didn’t.”

“Practice is what we need to get better and that’s what we’ll be doing until the parish tournament starts,” he continued. “There were a lot of positives too. We didn’t quit. We came back and fought until the end.”

Kaplan is off until the Vermilion Parish tournament starts in Gueydan next week.

Rosco Harrington
Sports Correspondant