Pirates, Patriots battle to open district

The first game of district play on the boys side in District 6-3A pits the Kaplan Pirates against the North Vermilion Patriots.
Kaplan comes into the game with a 5-9 record, after losing five of their last six games.
In their last game, the Pirates were defeated 62-45 by Berwick.
Kaplan’s go-to scorer is center Jalen Bates, but the Pirates have guards that are more than capable of filling up the stat book.
North Vermilion enters the game with a 9-10 record, after losing at home to Lafayette Christian Academy Friday night 80-46.
“They (North Vermilion) have a good team,” said Kaplan head coach Jeff Davis. “Their record is not as good as it was last year, but they have played some good teams.”
The Patriots thrive on their defensive pressure getting out on fast breaks.
North Vermilion may try and take advantage of Kaplan’s youth at the guard position. The pressure defense may work in the Patriots’ favor.
“I’m concerned that he (North Vermilion coach Jack LeBlanc) knows that our guards are young,” Davis said. “He knows that pressure hurts us. We work on it everyday, but when you’re young, it’s hard. That hurt us against Berwick.”
“Our defense is geared towards taking the paint away,” said North Vermilion head coach Jack LeBlanc last week. “We have our style of play, and we play our game.”
At times the Patriots like to slow the game down and get into their motion offense.
The two teams matched up earlier this season during the parish tournament, and after leading for most of the game, Kaplan lost the game 43-37.
The Patriots’ gameplan of taking away their opponents inside scoring will be tested against Bates and his inside presence.
Kaplan typically plays a zone defense, but the North Vermilion’s outside shooting could cause problems, according to Davis.
“What scares me is that they have good outside shooters,” Davis said. “They have kids who hurt us from the outside last year.”
The Pirates love to dump it down into the post, and it will be an interesting battle between two teams who put empahsis on paint scoring.
Davis said the keys to winning the game is simple.
“If we don’t make layups, free throws and take care of the ball, we’re going to lose,” he said. “No matter what you do in basketball, if you don’t do those three things, you will lose.”