The J.Z. George boys basketball team opens play in the Region 2-2A Tournament Thursday at 8:30 p.m. against Eupora High School at East Webster High School in Maben.
The Jaguars are 8-13 overall after dropping an 87-50 decision to Coffeeville last Friday on the road. J.Z. George held a slim 16-15 lead after the first period, but the Pirates raced out to a 42-24 advantage by halftime with a 27-8 run in the second frame. Coffeeville led 67-40 after the third quarter.
Jordun Normal paced the Jaguars with 21 points. Keldrick Glover hit for nine, and Malik Branch and D'Anthony McGlothan had eight each.
A win over Eupora Thursday would send the Jaguars into the finals at 8:30 p.m. Friday against either No. 1 seed Calhoun City, No. 4 seed Bruce or No. 5 East Webster. Bruce and East Webster played Tuesday night with the winner moving on to play Calhoun City Thursday at 5:30 p.m. The boys consolation game is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The Lady Jaguars opened play in the region tournament Tuesday in the play-in game. J.Z. George (6-16) is the fourth seed and took on No. 5 Eupora. The winner plays Thursday at 4 p.m. against No. 1 Calhoun City.
The other half of the bracket has No. 2 East Webster facing No. 3 Bruce at 7 p.m. Thursday. The consolation game is Friday at 4 p.m. and the title game is at 7 p.m.
The Lady Jaguars dropped a 73-64 overtime decision to Coffeeville last Friday. The Lady Pirates outscored the visitors from North Carrollton 13-4 in the extra period.
Tashanda Fleming had 19, and Jasmine Newman 15 for J.Z. George. Tyeshia Grant and Jakyla Winters had eight each.
In games from Jan. 28, the J.Z. George boys put together a solid fourth quarter as the Jaguars rallied from a nine-point deficit to knock off East Webster 60-56 in their final Region 2-2A contest.
J.Z. George, which went 2-2 in district, trailed 41-32 after the third quarter but outscored the Wolves 28-15 in the fourth period.
"We made some defensive adjustments and changed our offensive game plan. We couldn’t make a shot from the outside, so we started taking it to them inside," said J.Z. George first-year head coach LeQuell Allen of the fourth-quarter rally.
J.Z. George trailed 14-12 after one and 26-20 at the half.
McGlothan had 25 points, and Branch tallied 15. Glover tacked on 14.
In the girls game, East Webster beat the Lady Jags 66-48 as it led 24-10 after one, 38-24 at the half and 56-32 after the third period.
Newman led J.Z. George, which went 1-3 in region play, with 24 points. Fleming had 11, and Grant notched six points.
The Lady Jaguars turned on the jets in the second half as they rallied to beat Nanih Waiya 52-39 on Feb. 1 in a game played in North Carrollton.
The boys did not play because more than half of the Nanih Waiya team was dealing with the flu.
The Lady Jags trailed 10-9 after the first period. They tied the game at 22-22 by halftime, and J.Z. George went in front 37-33 by the end of the third with a 15-11 run. Their defense stymied the Lady Warriors in the fourth as they held a 15-6 scoring advantage.
Fleming led the way with 18 points, and Newman tacked on 12. Winters had 11 points.
