’Jacks to host St. Louis in regional round

Patterson stifled Evangel 68-43 Friday to advance to the regional round of the Class 3A state playoffs against St. Louis Catholic of Lake Charles.
No. 7 Patterson will host No. 10 St. Louis today at 6 p.m.
The Lumberjacks used full-court pressure to take an early lead on Evangel. Patterson (20-4) led 26-15 at halftime and held the Eagles to just three first-half field goals in the first 16 minutes.
“We were able to dictate to them what we wanted them to do,” Patterson coach Ryan Taylor said after the game.
Still, Taylor said things were “up and down” in the first half and the Lumberjacks had some “careless” fouls allowing Evangel to get to the free-throw line too often.
“We made too many careless fouls 50 feet from basket, and those kinds of fouls are mental mistakes,” he stressed. “We can’t have them.”
Evangel made a run to open the third quarter, and after a layup and a couple of free-throws by Trey Woods, the Eagles trailed the ’Jacks 28-23 with 3:53 remaining. But Daylon Charlot answered for Patterson with a steal and basket followed by a tip in to give Patterson a 32-25 margin with just more than two minutes to play. Patterson’s defensive pressure took over in the final minutes capped by a Charlot dunk and layup for a 38-26 lead.
“We played aggressive and that’s our style, and we were able to get some breaks in the second half and some easy buckets,” Taylor said. “We knew they were a good rebounding team, and if we couldn’t keep them off the boards, it was going to be a long night.”
Patterson broke the game open with an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter and cruised to the victory.
Top contributors for Patterson were Charlot with 18, Taylon Grogan, eight; Jedrick Gunner, Nehemiah Augustus and Malik Garrett with six; Dontrell Benjamin, five; and DJ Jones, three.
St. Louis (20-9) beat Iowa 61-44 last week. Taylor says the Saints are a solid ball club.
“They’re very guard-oriented and do not have a lot of height,” Taylor said. “They like to shoot the three and do it very well. We are going to have to control the guards and not let them penetrate because that’s when the open looks will come on the outside.”
Patterson’s guards terrorized Evangel’s front court Friday with their speed and athleticism.
“The film didn’t do them (Patterson) any justice,” Evangel coach Reni Mason said. “They are so quick and athletic. I didn’t come in here thinking they could make the plays they made. Our guards had trouble all night.”
Don’t expect a lot change in the game plan this week.
“We want to play the game at the speed we want to,” Taylor said. “We are going to go out and do what we do. We will put pressure at times, but we want to be solid on defense and make them work for everything they get.”