In most circumstances, league champions don’t meet until the second or third round of the regional tournament.
But that will not be the case tonight when Junction City (17-7), the 8-2A’s No. 2 seed, faces Dierks (16-10), the 7-2A’s No. 3 seed, in the opening round of the 2A South Regional Tournament at Acorn.
Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.
The Dragons won a share of the 8-2A title and were the top seed for last week’s district tournament, but fell to Fordyce in the title game.
The Outlaws matched Murfreesboro with a 10-2 league mark to share the 7-2A title, but were upended by Spring Hill in the semifinals of the district tournament.
The Dragons and Outlaws aren’t strangers to one another.
Tonight’s clash marks the third straight year the schools have met in the regional tournament.
Two years ago, the Outlaws topped the Dragons 55-37 to win the regional crown. Last year, Dierks knocked off Junction City 53-47 in the third-place game.
Now the schools meet with a berth in the state tournament at stake.
For Junction City coach Xairius Larry, the Dragons’ top priority is trying to find a way to corral senior Andrew Mack, who surpassed the 1,500-point scoring mark in his career last month.
“They have some really good guard play,” Larry said. “Everything goes through him (Mack), their best player. We have to find a way to slow him down.”
The Outlaws have also gotten solid play from senior guard Issak Helms and fellow senior center Drew Tedford.
“He (Tedford) is the big kid in the middle,” Larry said. “He's going to run the floor and rebound the ball. We are going to have to keep him off the glass. He (Helms) is a crafty guard who can make plays.”
The Dragons counter with senior guards Lamontra Hankton and Deon James, who combined for 30 points in the district final against Fordyce. Junior Pechone Larry scored 18 points in Junction City’s win over Parkers Chapel in the semifinals.
“We'll have an advantage on the perimeter,” Larry said. “They play a wide 3-2 zone, so we are going to try to speed them up and get instant offense off turnovers. Hopefully, we are making shots on the perimeter as well.”
As far as the district tournament is concerned, Larry was not pleased with his team’s performance.
“We didn't play well at all in the district tournament,” Larry said. “We were all over the place like we have never seen a basketball. Guys were turning the ball over left and right. We cannot afford to play like that going into regionals.”
For the Dragons to reach the state tournament, Larry said there would be two keys for his team.
“Keys to victory in the first round of regionals will be how well we defend, and how well we shoot the ball against Dierks,” Larry said.