The Jena Giants won one and lost two during an exciting week of basketball last week as they look to their final games before the playoffs begin.
On Tuesday, February 3, the Giants would travel to Glenmora in another non-district game. The game would be a tight one that would go back and forth but the Giants would escape with the victory 55-53.
In the game for the Giants, Zadrien Cooper had 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Daniel Hatcher would finish with 10 points while Xavier Brown had 6 points in the game.
On Friday, February 6, the Giants would play another big district game as the Buckeye Panthers would come to town. Buckeye would come in with a 3-1 district record and 17 wins on the season. The Giants would also come into the game with a 3-1 district record as both teams were tied for 2nd in the district standings.
Jena would jump out to a 13-4 lead to start the game but Buckeye would come back as Jena would take a 16-14 lead into the 2nd quarter.
The 2nd quarter would be a good one as both teams would exchange the lead back and forth, however, Buckeye would take a 28-26 lead into halftime.
In the 3rd quarter, Buckeye would maintain the lead and not look back as they would make seven three-point shots in the 2nd half and would go on to win 69-62. Buckeye would make a total of 10 three-point shots in the game.
In the game for the Giants, Xavier Brown had 18 points, Zac Brown had 13 points, Zadrien Cooper had 11 points, Brittian Johnson had 9 points, Titan Smith had 6 points, and Daniel Hatcher had 5 points.
On Saturday, February 7, the Giants would travel to Pleasant Hill. The Giants would lose another tough one as Pleasant Hill would win 78-54.
The Giants are now 11-5 on the season and they are currently ranked #12 in the Division III Non-Select Power Rankings.
The next home game for the Giants will be Friday, February 13, as the Marksville Tigers come to town. Marksville was the state runner up last year and come into this game as the #1 team in Division III Non-Select. They are also the favorite to win the state championship.
Tip off will be at 7:30 p.m. If you can’t make it to the game, then we will have you covered on 102.7 KJNAFM where you can hear all of the live action. If you are not in the listening area, then you can download the MIXLR app and search for KJNAFM or go online at www.mixlr.com/kjnafm.
This week’s Giants sports page is sponsored by Ace Family Hardware.
