The Jaguars of J.Z. George High School creeped a little closer to the .500 mark with a pair of wins this past week on the hardcourt.
The Jaguars (6-7) claimed a 70-68 overtime victory over Ethel High School at the McAdams Shootout Saturday as Malik Branch sank a pair of free throws with time expired to hand JZG the win.
J.Z. George jumped out to a 25-16 lead after the first period, but Ethel fought back to only trail 35-33 at the half. The Tigers, who are a Class 1A school, outscored the Jaguars 17-13 in the third frame to lead 50-48 headed to the fourth quarter. Regulation ended tied at 63-apiece and J.Z. George held a 7-5 advantage in overtime.
D'Anthony McGlothan led the Jags with 28 points, including a 3-pointer from the corner with 18 seconds left in OT to tie the game, while Branch notched 20. Jordun Normal tacked on seven.
The Lady Jaguars also went into overtime with Ethel but came up on the short end as the Lady Tigers posted a 50-48 triumph in a double overtime affair.
Ethel led 20-19 after one, 29-19 at the half and 35-27 after the third. A 14-6 run by the Lady Jags in the fourth tied the game at 41-41. The game was tied 46-46 after the first OT.
Jasmine Newman led J.Z. George (2-11) with 23 points, including all seven of the Lady Jags’ overtime points. Alyson Anderson and Tyeshia Grant had seven points each.
The Jaguars picked up their first win of the week on Dec. 17 with a 54-42 victory over visiting Amanda Elzy in North Carrollton.
J.Z. George held leads of 14-11 after the first period, 23-19 at the half and 37-31 after the third quarter.
McGlothan had a team-high 17 points for the Jaguars, and Branch tallied 16 points. Keldrick Glover had 10 points, and Alex Chriss had five points.
In the girls game, Elzy came out on top 38-34 as it rallied in the fourth period after trailing 23-22 after three quarters of play. The Lady Panthers outscored the Lady Jags 16-11 in the final eight minutes. J.Z. George led 9-4 after one and 14-13 at the half.
For J.Z. George, Grant, Jakayla Winters and Newman had eight points each. Anderson finished with seven points.
The Lady Jags and Jaguars will compete in the Humphreys County Holiday Tournament Friday and Saturday in Belzoni. Both teams will play South Delta at 10 and 11:30 a.m. Friday, and then tangle with Simmons High School Saturday at 10 and 11:30 a.m. as well.
