For the second consecutive week, the Gentry High Rams will do battle against a regional champion.
However, on this occasion there is a trip to Jackson hanging in the balance.
Today’s long trip to Pontotoc High School, at 7 p.m. the 25-7 Gentry High Rams and the 29-2 Warriors will decide which team will move on to make a State 4A Final Four appearance..
A highly competitive game is promised as the Warriors bring a 24 game win streak into tonight’s clash and have thus far not lost a game since last November; the only blemishes on their schedule came at the hands of New Albany and Tupelo High Schools.
Entering the 2019 playoffs as the Region 2-4A champions, the Warriors earned a spot into tonight’s quarterfinal game on Monday night by escaping with a 44-43 home-court decision over a hot Clarksdale High Wildcats squad.
Meanwhile, the Rams earned their berth in tonight’s action by handing a strong Ripley High School squad a home-court 47-44 loss.
Should the Rams defeat the Pontotoc squad tonight, they will move on to the State 4A Final Four scheduled to be played at 7 p.m. Monday at the Coliseum in Jackson.
Their opponent will be the winner of the Jackson Lanier-Florence High quarterfinal game.
The State 4A championship game will then be played March 7, again at the Coliseum in Jackson.
In the Rams’ defeat of Ripley High School, an impressive turnaround was had by Head Coach Chico Potts’ squad.
Overcoming that game’s long road trip and an early deficit, the Rams would parlay aggressive defense and critical fourth quarter scoring by Shamarvious Hodges and David Windfield to help seal the game.
Seeing their season end with a 26-4 record, the Tigers initially used a 19-10 first period lead to help send them to the dressing room owning a 23-19 halftime lead.
However, the Rams defense had begun to assert itself in the second quarter and ultimately limited the Tigers to only 25 points over the course of the final three periods of the game.
With this successful defensive effort, the Rams battled to that four point halftime deficit by closing out the second quarter with a 7-0 scoring run.
The Rams would take their first lead of the game in the final minute of the third quarter by way of a Darrius Clark three-pointer. That key shot was then followed by Windfield, who buried successive two-pointers through the net to open the fourth period.
Ripley would not go away however, as the Region 1 champion rallied with an 8-0 run to take a 40-38 lead with 4:15 remaining to play.
With their season on the line, the Rams then responded with their own game-clinching rally.
Hodges began the resurgence as he sank a three pointer to give the Rams a 41-40 lead. The senior would also come through in the clutch moments later as he sank four free throws in the final minute of the game to help take the score to its final margin.
Hodges led the Gentry scoring in this contest with 14 points, seven of which came in that pivotal fourth quarter.
