Bulldogs race to big lead, hold off Capitol

A brilliant first half by Demarco Harry gave Ascension Catholic a big halftime lead against Capitol, and the Bulldogs did just enough in the final 16 minutes to pull out a 52-42 home victory on Tuesday night.

Ascension Catholic led by 19 at halftime and opened up a 22-point advantage early in the third quarter, but the Lions fought back to cut the deficit down to eight in the fourth. However, the Bulldogs made some key defensive stops down the stretch that helped ice away the win.

“It’s all about growth and trying to get different guys in different roles,” Ascension Catholic assistant coach Kylon Green said. “It all boils down to playing games. This was only our fifth game all year, and this was Capitol’s 13th. 

“They had a scrappy bunch that came in and played hard. It’s always a tough game when we play. I was more shocked with how much we were ahead in the first half than how close it got late in the game. But we have some experienced guards that came in and guided us down the stretch.”

Harry put on a show in the first half.

He scored 11 points in the first quarter to give the Bulldogs a 15-8 lead.

In the second quarter, Harry went on an impressive tear that saw him score 13 straight points. That featured two 3-pointers and three made free throws. He also had two steals and a block that he converted into points.

His onslaught gave Ascension Catholic a 33-14 halftime lead. At the break, Harry had 24 of his team’s points.

“That’s what we expect from Demarco Harry, at this point. He’s been starting since the eighth grade,” Green said. “In my opinion, he’s the best player in the parish. He gets us going, he’s always aggressive and he’s an offensive threat on any given night. He’s liable to have those 25, 30-point games. We want that kind of aggression from him.”

But in the third quarter, Ascension Catholic got sloppy with the ball, and Capitol took advantage. At one point, the Lions hit three straight 3-points to cut the deficit to 13. It all contributed to a 12-0 run that put Capitol within 10.

Jack Abadie then scored five to extend the Bulldog lead to 45-32 heading to the fourth.

There, Capitol went on a 5-0 run to get within eight, but Harry then scored his only bucket of the second half to push the lead back to 10.

From there, the Bulldogs held off the Lions, 52-42.

Harry led all scorers with 26 points. Demarcus Patterson added nine, and Abadie chipped in with eight.

The victory improved Ascension Catholic to 2-3 overall, and Coach Green said that he thinks the Bulldogs will only get better moving forward.

“I wanna see our freshman Jamaris Breaux play stronger. He’s getting better every game,” Green said. “He’s going to be a force. He just has to want it. Calvin Delone is a tough point guard. He closed the game handling the ball. He had six or seven assists and only two turnovers tonight. 

“I just want to see this group grow. They have the potential to make some noise and shock some people. We have to keep working every day, limit our turnovers and keep playing strong defense. We held Capitol to 14 points in the first half. Our defense is definitely our strength. When we play defense, we can compete.”