The Jena Giants played a couple of games this past week and improved their district record to 2-0 to maintain their lead in the District 2-3A standings.
The Giants came into the week with a 6-6 record and are trying to pick up as many wins as they can to try and get into the top 16 of the power rankings for a home playoff game in the first round.
On Monday, January 13, the Giants would welcome the Harrisonburg Bulldogs to Guy Campbell Memorial Gymnasium in a non-district contest. Harrisonburg came into the game with a 5-12 record on the season. Harrisonburg would play Jena tough as the Giants would take a 24-23 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Giants defense would tighten up as they would limit Harrisonburg to only 15 second half points. The Giants would go on to win 52-38. Zadrien Cooper would lead all scorers with 21 points in the game. Xavier Brown had 16 points, Daniel Hatcher had 8 points, Blayne Shivers had 3 points, Zac Brown had 2 points and Gavin Hoffpauir had 2 points.
On Friday night, January 17, the Giants would welcome in Bolton for another District 2-3A matchup. Bolton would come into the game with a 3-15 overall and 0-2 in district play record. It would be senior night for the Giants as they would honor their two seniors in Blayne Shivers and Gavin Hoffpauir before the game. The defense from the second half of the Harrisonburg game would carry over into the first half of the Bolton game as the Giants would only allow six first half points for Bolton. Zadrien Cooper would ignite the crowd with a thunderous one handed dunk in the first quarter and the Giants would take a 27-6 lead into halftime.
Bolton would finally start getting some shots to fall in the second half but it wouldn’t be enough as the Giants would outscore Bolton 22-12 in the third quarter. The Giants would go on to win 59-30 to improve to 7-6 overall and 2-0 in district play.
Gavin Hoffpauir would lead the Giants with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Xavier Brown had 12 points and 4 rebounds in the game. Zadrien Cooper finished with 11 points and 3 blocks. Blayne Shivers had 8 points, Gus Morphis had 5 points, Daniel Hatcher had 2 points, Brittian Johnson had 2 points, Zac Brown had 2 points and Titan Smith had 1 point.
This week, the Giants will have a big road test as they travel to take on the Bunkie Panthers Friday night, January 24. It will be a big district game for the Giants as they look to try and stay unbeaten in district.
Everyone is encouraged to make the trip to Bunkie to cheer on the Giants in this big district matchup. If you can’t make it to the game then you can tune in on FM 102.7 KJNA as the game will start immediately after the girls’ game.
If you are not in the listening area you can download the MIXLR app and search for KJNAFM or go online at www.kjnafmjena. mixlr.com.
Photos from the Bolton game:
