The 2023 3A-8 Junior District Tournament is set to begin on Wednesday, February 8, on the campus of Camden Harmony Grove in Camden.
The Junior Pirates would get a final victory in the final contest of the regular season on Monday, February 6, defeating rival McGehee.
Drew Central would control the opening tip and would put the first points on the board at the 5:37 mark on a layup by Zae Bullard.
McGehee came back to match the score at 5:12.
Drew Central’s Blake Chandler would score five points in the first quarter, along with Bullard with two points being scored by Uriah Rhodes to give the Junior Pirates a 12-10 lead at the end of the quarter.
Jeremiah Bodiford would be the high scorer for the Junior Pirates in the second quarter, scoring five points of the Junior Pirates 11 point total in the quarter.
McGehee would outscore the Junior Pirates in the quarter 13-11 on a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the contest at 23 heading into the locker room at the half.
Uriah Rhodes would begin the second half of play by breaking the 23-23 tie with a three-pointer.
Rhodes would connect on two three-pointers in the third quarter with a third three being hit by Chandler as the Junior Pirates took control of the contest outscoring McGehee 21-4 in the quarter to take a 44-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, McGehee would outscore the Junior Pirates 15-10, but it would not be enough to pull ahead of the Junior Pirates who took the 54-42 win.
Jayden Jones would lead the junior Pirates in scoring with 13 points with the majority of his points coming in the fourth quarter.
Jeremiah Bodiford and Blake Chandler would score 11 points each with Zae Bullard scoring nine, and Uriah Rhodes with eight.
Brodey Cater would round out the Junior Pirate scoring with two points.
This season's junior tournament will be held in two venues, with games being played in Smackover and Camden Harmony Grove.
For the Junior Pirates, they will enter the tournament as the second seed, facing Camden Harmony Grove, who enters as the seventh seed, at 7pm on Wednesday night.
If successful, the Junior Pirates will play the winner of Wednesday’s game at Smackover between Smackover and Lakeside. The game would take place in Smackover on Friday at 7:45pm.
The finals of the tournament will be held on Saturday in Smackover at 6:15pm
For the Lady Pirates, they will enter the tournament as the third seed and will face Camden Harmony Grove in Camden on Wednesday at 5:45pm.
If successful, the Junior Lady Pirates will face the Winner of McGehee and Dollarway on Friday at 6:30pm in Smackover.
The finals will be in Smackover, on Saturday with a 5pm tip scheduled.
