FERRIDAY, La. &045; Ladrian Davis admitted it &045; he and his Ferriday teammates didn’t play good defense.

Huh? The Trojans with their defensive-minded head coach held Crowville to just two points over an eight-minute span and yielded the Bulldogs just 24 points heading into the fourth quarter.

Maybe it was the ending that left a bad taste in his mouth. The Bulldogs didn’t go away before the Trojans took a 78-48 win Tuesday in the District 4-2A opener for both teams.

&uot;We played poorly defensively tonight,&uot; said Davis, who tossed in a game-high 24 points. &uot;We really played poor. Against good teams we’ve got to step up our game. In district everybody is trying to make it to the playoffs. We’ve got to step up our game.&uot;

Maybe they’re just not satisfied, although the defense in the fourth quarter left Ferriday head coach James Davis with something to be displeased about. But the middle was something to appreciate, especially in the third quarter when the Bulldogs didn’t get on the board until the 2:54 mark.

But when you’re talking about a coach who orders his team to holler, &uot;Defense&uot; to break a huddle, you can understand where the emphasis lies.

&uot;I think the key to defense is as long as you’re fresh you’re able to play good defense,&uot; James Davis said. &uot;Ladrian defense,&uot; James Davis said. &uot;Ladrian wasn’t fresh. The guys were able to play good defense on the perimeter, but their legs weren’t fresh. When you’re not fresh, you’re going to commit silly fouls. The guys that came off the bench did really well and gave those guys a breather.&uot;

The start of the second half and the end of the first half was their best, but the second half virtually put the game away after the Trojans took a 32-18 lead at the break. After playing much of the first half in a 1-3-1 to deny Crowville’s perimeter game, the Trojans (8-6, 1-0) opted for a 1-2-2 matchup to deny the outside and prevent any open gaps around the basket.

Dominique Myles got a layup off a turnover with 5:16 left for a 40-18 lead, and Eric Crump finished it off with a bucket at the 3:11 mark to open up a 46-18 lead. Crump’s bucket also finished off a 14-0 run to start the second half.

&uot;We didn’t play as well as I expected to play in the first half,&uot; James Davis said. &uot;We made some adjustments at halftime. I told them guys like Crowville &045; you can’t afford to let them stay around when you’ve got a chance to put them away. In the second half we did a better job defensively.

&uot;They were getting good looks the first half and weren’t knocking them down. We were forced to go to a 1-2-2 and get out on the perimeter.&uot;

The Bulldogs had the opportunities early and cut the lead to two midway through the second quarter when a basket from Mondrea Wilson put the deficit at 18-16. The Bulldogs (8-13, 0-1) and their guard-oriented offense couldn’t find a rhythm after that and didn’t score until Elisha Doyle canned a basket at the 2:54 mark in the third.

&uot;Our shots just weren’t falling,&uot; Crowville head coach Byron McDougle said. &uot;They out-rebounded us. They got a lot of defensive rebounds, and we got one shot. They got the shots, got the rebounds and got the shots again.

&uot;All we had to do (against the 1-2-2) was cut through the middle. We didn’t pass and cut like we should have.&uot;

The Bulldogs kept it close in their 1-3-1 the first half and were keeping the Trojans from pulling away. The Trojans held a 14-9 leads at the end of the first before they got buckets from Chris Edwards and Ladrian Davis to get an 18-9 lead before Darius Hicks converted a three-point play to cut it to 18-12.

After Crowville cut it to two, the Trojans got hot from the outside against the 1-3-1 and hit three 3-pointers &045; all courtesy of Ladrian Davis.

&uot;I thought offensively we were very, very patient,&uot; James Davis said. &uot;The first half we moved the ball around exceptionally well and got the shots we wanted to take. The guys were getting their feet under them and making shots.&uot;