Bates helps Kaplan to a victory

KAPLAN - Jalen Bates scored a career-high 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded five dunks while leading Kaplan to a 61-54 victory over the David Thibodaux Bulldogs at B.J. Bordelon Gym.
The victory avenged and early season loss and made up for the Pirates’ poor showing at the Yuletide Classic last weekend.
“It was both a blessing and a curse,” explained Kaplan head coach Jeff Davis of his team’s two-and-out performance in the tournament. “We certainly didn’t want to play as bad as we did, but it gave us some much needed practice time. We practiced five times in six days. We were sick of each other, but it helped our football players get into the flow and we got some things to work.”
Bates scored 12 of the Pirates’ 15 first quarter points as the Bulldogs tried to apply full-court pressure. Bates kept getting behind the defense and his teammates kept finding him, leading to a barrage of dunks and easy buckets.
“We’ve been talking about getting Jalen the ball,” Davis said. “We were able to spread them out and that really opened things up for him.”
However, Bates couldn’t keep up with the Bulldogs’ offense as they put 23 on the board in the opening frame behind hot-outside shooting. Then early in the second period, Bates headed to the bench after picking up his second foul.
Over the first 2:00 of the second period, the Bulldogs’ lead ballooned to 29-15. After stealing the ball near mid-court, Devante Davis ended the drought when he slammed home a dunk of his own. Over the final 6:00 of the first half, Kaplan went on a 15-7 run to narrow the gap to 36-30 at the break.
“They we shooting the ball well and went on a run,” said Bates. “We panicked a little bit but finished the half pretty strong. We pulled it together at halftime and got it done in the second half.”
Kaplan opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run, taking a 38-36 lead with 3:35 to play in the period. With just over a minute to left, Bates broke a 41-41 tie with a ferocious two-handed slam the sent the crowd wild. The Bulldogs answered and the quarter ended knotted at 43.
In the fourth quarter, the Pirates made 8-out-of-11 free throws while outscoring the Bulldogs 18-11 to get the win.
“We pushed the ball a lot more and finished around the basket,” said Bates of his team’s better play. “In the fourth quarter we made our free throws and that won us the game.”
Davis thought Joseph White played big off the bench and having guard Darius Jordan back to 100% health-wise made a big difference. He was most pleased with the energy level his team played with and the way they responded to adversity and finished the game.
“We were running and trapping on defense and crashing the boards,” Davis explained. “We ended the game with 13 steals. That’s a very good number. Offensively, we’re still a work in progress, but we finally got our big man the ball. Give them credit. They are good. But in the fourth quarter we finished the game.”
Statistically, the Pirates filled every column. Devante Davis scored 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds and collected five steals. Kaylon Rudd had six points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Blake Touchet score six points, had six boards, six assists and four steals.
Kaplan returns to action Tuesday when they host Morgan City