The J.Z. George boys basketball team hits the road to take on Coahoma County Friday in the North 2A State Tournament.
The Jaguars (3-6) and Red Panthers (4-2) will tip off at 5 p.m. in Clarksdale.
"I don't know anything about them," said J.Z. George head coach Gerald Glass. "I think they've only played six games, so we're both coming into this game way behind on playing and practice time.
"It's been a tough season. It's hard to have high expectations under these circumstances. We didn't play our first game until January, and now we get delayed because of the weather."
The first round of the playoffs was scheduled to start Tuesday but was pushed back to Friday because of the weather.
The Jaguars did manage to play three games last week during the Region 2-2A Tournament. They ended the week with a 72-65 win over Bruce in the consolation game last Thursday to finish third in the tournament.
"Our guys played together and played hard," added Glass. "Bruce did some things on defense that caused us some problems, but we managed to make some adjustments in the fourth quarter and pull this one out."
The Jags came out on fire as they led 30-14 after the first period with the junior duo of D'Anthony McGlothan and Jordun Normal leading the way with 12 and eight points, respectively.
The visiting Trojans pulled to within nine at 41-32 by halftime with an 18-11 run in the second frame. Bruce pressed its way to a seven-point lead with a 25-10 advantage in the third quarter and a 58-51 lead headed to the fourth.
The Jaguars finally got going again as they outscored the Trojans 21-7 in the final period.
McGlothan led the way with 26 points, and Normal finished with 21. Keldrick Glover, the lone senior, had nine points. Alex Criss finished with six.
In a second-round game last Tuesday, East Webster beat the Jaguars 63-33 as it led 20-9 after one, 39-16 at the half and 53-25 after the third.
McGlothan and Normal had seven points each, and Kendarius Head and Criss had six apiece.
The Jaguars beat Eupora 67-25 in the play-in game last Monday.
