J.Z. George is hoping that playing the best competition it can find will pay off once the Jaguars reach the Region 3-3A tournament.
The Jaguars traveled to Ridgeland High School last week where they dropped a 76-26 decision to the Class 5A Titans. They also lost a 79-22 decision to region rival Amanda Elzy.
“We have a young team,” coach Jonathan Childs said. “The best way for our guys to learn is to put them up against good competition. We are facing that in our region. If we can learn and improve over the next month, we could be competitive in the region tournament.”
J.Z. George trailed Ridgeland 13-8 after the first quarter. The Jaguars pulled to within two points of the Titans in the second quarter. Then Ridgeland pulled away. Ridgeland led 31-16 at the half. The Titans would outscore J.Z. George 50-11 in the second half.
Malek Branch led the Jaguars with nine points while Devontae Smith added eight points.
Amanda Elzy held the Jaguars to three points in the first quarter and led 45-9 at the half. Smith led with six points.
The J.Z. George girls lost a 67-22 decision to Ridgeland. They also lost to Amanda Elzy.
J.Z. George will host Charleston on Thursday.
