Wildcats take home parish title with win

Defense wins championships is a cliche that was appropriate for the game Thursday night between the Abbeville High Wildcats and the North Vermilion Patriots for the parish tournament championship.
Led by their tenacious defense and good free throw shooting down the stretch, Abbeville walked away with a 43-34 win in front of their home crowd.
The game opened with both teams looking to get a feel for one another looking to figure out the opposing team’s defense, and the Wildcats led 10-9 at the end of the opening quarter.
North Vermilion responded with a 14-point second quarter, with six coming from Mike Bessard to gain a 23-19 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Abbeville’s defensive intensity grew, and North Vermilion began to commit more turnovers, and miss open shots.
The Patriots scored two points in the third quarter, and trailed by five going into the fourth quarter. North Vermilion made a surge late led by Bessard and Jordan Windmon, but the Patriots were not able to capitalize on layups late in the game.
Abbeville got into the bonus in the quarter, and Clyde Mitchell hit key free-throws with a little over a minute left, to keep the Patriots away. Mitchell went to the line and hit all eight of his free throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats made a living at the free throw line. They took 28 for the game and hit 18.
Mitchell led the Wildcats with 19 points. Drevian Evans added 5 points and Jourdan Brooks scored 4 points with 8 rebounds.
Windmon led the Patriots with 10 points, and Bessard poured in 9.
North Vermilion will be in action in the Midland Tournament Dec. 17-20.
Abbeville’s next game is at home against Crowley Dec. 16.