Dragons set to face Bulldogs

For Junction City, there is no rest for the weary.

Just 72 hours after winning the 2A South Regional Tournament on its home floor, the Dragons take on Quitman in the first round of the 2A State Tournament tonight.

Game time is set for 8:30 p.m. from Carlisle.

The Bulldogs (24-8), the No. 4 seed from the Central, finished second in the 5-2A, but upended White County Central to win the district tournament title, snapping the Bears’ 19-game winning streak in the process.

Like Junction City, Quitman hosted their regional tournament. After qualifying for the state tournament with a 75-74 win over Maumelle Charter, the Bulldogs were downed by conference rival Pangburn in the semifinals. Quitman then fell to White County Central 58-46 in the consolation game to get the No. 4 seed.

The Dragons (17-8), the No. 1 seed from the South, will be playing its fourth game in six nights, but they have been outstanding in February, winning seven of eight games. All three of their games in the regional tournament were nip-and-tuck affairs with the Dragons winning their three games over Dierks, Lafayette County and Hampton by a combined 10 points.

For Junction City coach Kendall Hutcheson, the battle-tested Bulldogs will provide a stern test for his team.

“They come from a tough conference up there,” Hutcheson said. “They’re a solid team, they’re fundamental and they can shoot the ball. They’re a tough team, they play solid defense and they’re a wellcoached team. They’re going to be a challenge, that’s for sure.”

Defensively, Hutcheson said the Bulldogs can mix up their looks.

“On defense, you’re going to see anything from a 1-3-1 or a 2-3 zone. They’ll pack in the 1-3-1 a little bit. They don’t trap as much as a lot of people do with it. They’ll play some full-court man also and run a little diamond press at times. There’s not a lot of gaps. They don’t gamble a lot. They’re pretty solid at what they do.”

Hutcheson added that while the Dragons have seen those defenses during conference play, the Bulldogs’ variations are different in some aspects.

“We’ve seen all of what we’re going to see,” Hutcheson said. “Bearden and Hampton run a 1-3-1, and they both have run 2-3 on us. Man-to-man, we’ve seen that with Parkers Chapel and Lafayette County. We’ve seen everything we’re going to see. It’s just things are a little bit different as far as how they do it.

“Bearden is so long and athletic that they go wide and long with it and stretch it out over the entire half-court, it seems like. The 1-3-1 we’ll see from Quitman is a little bit tighter and more controlled, which in some regards make it easier, but in others, a lot tougher. You attack it a little bit differently. We’re going to have to be patient on offense, and we’re doing a lot better job of being patient on offense. We need to just stay patient, don’t get in a hurry and wait for our opportunities.”

The Bulldogs also will vary their offense depending on what type of defense is being played.

“On offense, if it’s a zone, they will spread it out and throw a lot of skip passes and reverse the ball quickly and get open shots on the outside. They’ll hit the elbow with it and skip it that way,” Hutcheson said. “Against man-to-man, they’ll run a little five-out, kind of dribble weave a lot like Parkers Chapel does. They’ll go and go and go until you screw up somewhere, and as soon as you do, they’ll hit you with it. It’s going to be a challenge. They’re pretty disciplined and patient on offense. It’s a little bit different than playing a Hampton or a Lafayette County. It will definitely be a challenge for us.”

Given how disciplined the Bulldogs are on offense and how well they shoot the ball, Hutcheson said the Dragons must stay vigilant.

“I don’t think they mind shooting the three kind of quickly, but they shoot it so well that you’ve got to make sure that you get a hand up,” Hutcheson said. “Some of it comes down to that when you’re playing anybody that shoots the ball really well, there’s going to be some open shots, and you’ve got to hope that they miss one. If you play somebody that shoots 100 percent, you’re in trouble anyway no matter what defense you’re playing. You have to hope that maybe they miss a couple early and build a little bit of a lead up and then play from there. Everybody you play is going to be good from here on out, and we know that. We’re happy to be in the situation that we’re in. We have a chance to go up there and see what we can do.”

Zac Shue, a junior guard who was an All-State Tournament selection last year, guides Quitman’s offense.

“He’s probably their best player,” Hutcheson said. “He will shoot from about 25 feet. He catches it and shoots it like it’s nothing and knocks it down. The coaches that I’ve talked to said he makes more than he misses out there. He’s really consistent shooting that far out. We have to work, prepare, make sure we understand personnel and know who we’re guarding and try to take away some things.”

Although the Dragons are set to play for the fourth time in six days, Hutcheson isn’t concerned about his team having tired legs.

“I don’t think so,” Hutcheson said. “It (Monday’s practice) wasn’t nearly as intense as what we normally do. It was more preparing. We treated it like a game day. On Tuesday, we’ll do a brief walk-through, do a brief personnel discussion and load up on the bus. It will be a little bit different this week, but I think they’re excited to go. I think the legs won’t be a big deal.”

If the Dragons are to advance to the quarterfinals, Hutcheson said turnovers would hold the key.

“We’ve got to take care of the basketball,” Hutcheson said. “I say it every single ballgame with us. We’re young at the guard spot, and the guys are getting better and better at making decisions. It has zero to do with talent because they’re very, very talented young men. Just a little bit inexperienced and sometimes trying to do a little more than we have to do. Sometimes we’ve got an easy pass, but we try to make a difficult pass instead of the easy one. We just have to stay within ourselves, play within ourselves, and I think we’ll be fine.”