The Jena Giants came into this past week needing some big wins to help improve their power ranking. On Tuesday, January 28, the Giants would travel to take on the 5A Tioga Indians. Tioga is one of the most talented teams in the state’s highest division so it would be a tough task for the Giants. It would be all Tioga in this one as the Indians would go on to win 74-45.
In the game for the Giants, Zadrien Cooper had 14 points, Gavin Hoffpauir had 11 points, Xavier Brown had 8 points, Titan Smith had 6 points, Zac Brown had 4 points and Daniel Hatcher had 2 points.
On Friday, January 31, the Giants would return home to take on the Vidalia Vikings in another district matchup. Both teams came into the game needing the win to help their playoff chances. Vidalia came into the game ranked #29, one spot out of the playoffs, as the Giants came in ranked #23. So, it was setup to be a hard-fought game.
The Giants would use their defense to hold the Vikings to one shot each possession and would shutout Vidalia in the first quarter as Jena would take a 13-0 lead into the second quarter. Vidalia would outscore the Giants in the second quarter 10-8 as Jena would take a 21-10 lead into halftime.
The Giants would hold off a late Vidalia run to hold and win 50-35. Sophomore Daniel Hatcher played an excellent game for the Giants as he had to come in early off the bench for Gavin Hoffpauir who got into foul trouble. Hatcher would finish the game with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Zac Brown had 14 points and 2 steals. Zadrien Cooper finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and another monster dunk. Xavier Brown had 5 points, Gavin Hoffpauir had 4 points and Titan Smith had 2 points.
The Giants are now 8-8 on the season and 3-1 in district play. This Friday night the Giants will travel to Buckeye to take on the Panthers in another district matchup. It should be another hard-fought game with both teams needing the win to help their playoff chances so everyone make the trip to cheer on the Giants.
If you can’t make it to the game then you can hear all the live action on 102.7 KJNAFM. 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 Tioga game:
