The Jena Giants came into this week with a 7-6 overall record and 2-0 district record. The Giants were looking for a big win like they had last season to make a big jump in the power rankings, however, a hard-fought battle at Bunkie came up a little short to secure a win.
Jena would only play one game this past week due to the weather as they traveled to Bunkie this past Friday night, January 24.
Bunkie and Jena are two very similar teams. Jena has four starters with most of their team also football players, while Bunkie is in the very same position. Both football teams made runs to the semifinals this year so that meant that both teams got late starts on their basketball season. Bunkie came into the game with a 6-6 record and 1-1 in district play.
Bunkie would jump out to a 12-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Giants would play excellent defense and would outscore Bunkie 14-11 in the quarter. Zadrien Cooper would have a big first half, blocking shots and it was very apparent that it affected Bunkie as they would hesitate on their shot any time Cooper was around. Bunkie would go into halftime with a 23-21 lead.
In the third quarter, both teams would really struggle shooting from the field. Bunkie would outscore Jena 7-4 in the quarter. The Giants had plenty of opportunities but just couldn’t get the shots to fall.
In the fourth quarter, Bunkie would get things going as they would outscore Jena 18-11 in the quarter to pick up the 48-36 win.
In the game for the Giants, Xavier Brown had 12 points and 4 steals. Zadrien Cooper finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Zac Brown had 7 points, Daniel Hatcher had 4 points and Gavin Hoffpauir had 2 points.
The Giants are now 7-7 on the season and 2-1 in district play. They will return home this Friday night as they will take on the Vidalia Vikings in another big district game.
The Giants will need a big crowd on hand to cheer them on to victory. This will be a big game for both teams to try and improve their power ranking for the playoffs.
If you can’t make it to the game then you can hear all the action live on 102.7 KJNAFM starting at 6:00 p.m. If you are not in the listening area then you can download the MIXLR app and search for KJNAFM or go online at www.kjnafmjena.mixlr.com.
Photos from the game:
