The Jena Giants finished up their regular season this past week, splitting a pair of non-district games.
On Tuesday, February 18, the Giants welcomed in Claiborne Christian to Guy Campbell Memorial Gymnasium. The Giants would have one of their best offensive games as they would go on to win 81-60.
In the game for the Giants, Zac Brown would finish with 23 points and 4 steals. Gavin Hoffpauir had 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Zadrien Cooper had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Xavier Brown had 8 points, Daniel Hatcher had 5 points, Titan Smith had 5 points and Blayne Shivers had 2 points.
On Friday, February 21, the Giants would host one of the top teams in the state in the ASH Trojans – who have such a good 5A team they are predicted to win the state championship in their division. ASH would defeat the Giants 7550 but the Giants put up a good effort. Even with the loss the Giants still picked up a lot of power points because of playing up in class and the number of wins that the Trojans have on the season.
The Giants finish the regular season with a 12-10 overall record, and they now set their sights on the playoffs. The brackets will be released this week and by the time you read this article you will know where the Giants will be at.
The Giants look to be the #20 seed in the playoffs and will have to go on the road for their first-round game. The Giants are playing well as they finish up the season and if I was a higher seed I would not want to face the Giants in my first-round game. The Giants will look to win a firstround game for the second consecutive season.
Fans can check The Jena Times Facebook page for up-to-date basketball playoff information.
Remember you can hear all Jena Giants playoff games 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 game:
