BY CALVIN STEVENS
Sports Writer
The J.Z. George girls basketball team took control early as the Lady Jaguars cruised to a 44-19 win over Eupora High School Monday at the Region 4-2A Tournament at Sebastopol High School.
The Lady Jaguars will play at 4 p.m. Thursday against top-seed Philadelphia High School in the semifinals. Monday’s win guarantees J.Z. George a spot in next week’s State 2A Tournament.
“This thing is very winnable for us,” said J.Z. George coach DeJuan Clark. “We just have to come out and play each night.”
The Lady Jags led 16-6 after the first period, 32-9 at the half and 38-11 after the third frame.
Makylah Banks paced J.Z. George (7-17 overall) with 16 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Ty Meeks had 13 points, six steals and five rebounds.
The Jaguars open play in the tournament at 8:30 p.m. Thursday against Eupora. 8:30 p.m. Friday in the championship game, and the loser plays at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the consolation game. The top four teams advance to the State 2A Tournament next week.
The Lady Jaguars and Jaguars took on region foe Union High School last Thursday night in North Carrollton. The boys claimed a 52-38 win to improve to 10-12 overall and 5-3 in the district.
After a 12-12 first quarter, the Jaguars went in front 25-17 at the half. Union trailed 32-25 after the third period.
BJ Green led J.Z. George with 17 points, and Martavis Banks had nine points. Terrence Whitcomb and Nehemiah Williams had seven points each, and Nicholas Lacey tacked on six points.
The Lady Jaguars dropped a 47-37 decision to Union, which led 13-7 after one, 23-15 at the half and 32-23 after the third.
Makylah Banks led the Lady Jags with 18 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Dakiya Robinson had nine points, and Kiyunna Ward tacked on five points.
The Jaguars played a contest against Delta Streets Academy from Greenwood last Tuesday night. Delta Streets came out on top 49-47 by outscoring the Jags 17-10 in the fourth quarter. J.Z. George led 37-32 after the third frame.
Banks had 10 points, and Green tallied nine. Tyler Duren had eight points.
J.Z. George took on Philadelphia in a region contest last Monday. The girls lost a nail-biter 35-32. The Lady Tornadoes led 20-11 after one, 26-15 at the half and 30-24 after the third.
Banks had a team-high 20 points, six rebounds and five steals, and Robinson had five points and nine boards.
The boys game was called at the half when a power failure throughout North Carrollton forced the game to be called at the half with the Tornadoes in front 22-17.
