'Jacks to host Lutcher in the first round

Patterson High School is riding a wave of momentum heading into Friday’s Class 3A first-round playoff game against Lutcher.
The Lumberjacks (21-4) currently own a 13-game winning streak and are nearly perfect in 2016.
After dropping an 82-50 decision at Ellender on Jan. 5, the Lumberjacks have reeled off 13 straight wins, including
a 12-0 mark in District 8-3A.
Patterson head coach Ryan Taylor said the season has been “quite pleasing” to him.
“I went into the year thinking we might struggle a little bit just because of the lack of height and size we have, and we had some depth issues early," Taylor said.
However, Taylor said the squad overcame the adversity with solid play from their seniors in the season’s first few weeks.
“It allowed for our freshmen and those young guys who are seeing some minutes now to come along at a slower pace,” Taylor said. “I’m very pleased. We’ve picked up some big wins against some quality teams early. It snowballed
from there.
“Once we gained a little confidence, started playing well and once we got to district, it just rolled over," Taylor said. "We had those two tough ones against E.D. White, but the kids just battled and battled and battled and we pulled them out.”
With the perfect mark, the Lumberjacks earned their sixth consecutive district title.
As for Lutcher, their first-round opponent, Taylor said the Bulldogs are better than a 28 seed. Lutcher finished the regular season with a 21-9 overall mark and second place in District 10-3A with a 5-3 mark.
“They (are) loaded with talent, very athletic,” he said. “They go about nine deep. I think size-wise we’re going to
match up well with them. They have a kid … about 6-4, which is a lot bigger than anybody we have, but from top to
bottom, I think it’s going to be an evenly matched game.
“They like to push the ball," Taylor said. "They like to get it up and down the court. Got a couple guys who can shoot the 3 real well and they look to shoot it a lot.”
Taylor said Patterson will have to do a good job of blocking out and keeping Lutcher possessions to one shot each
time down the court.
“Then on the offensive end, we need to protect the basketball, get the quality shot that we want, make them play defense, and then just try to limit some transition points for ’em,” Taylor said.
Taylor admitted with the style of play that Lutcher uses, they will get points in transition.
“We just got to make sure they have to work for as many as they can,” he said.
Defensively, Taylor said Lutcher will press, play man-to-man and zone.
“We’re going to have to be well prepared for the multiple defenses we’ll see Friday night. … They do a lot of different
things,” Taylor said. “I think if we’re prepared for ’em, we can attack ’em the right way and get ourselves opportunities to score, and if we don’t let them sneak up on us, then we’ll be fine.”