The Blytheville Chickasaws hit the road tonight to take on the Wynne Yellowjackets in 5A-East action.
Blytheville (4-18, 1-8 5A-East) is coming off another gut-wrenching, 58-47, loss to the Paragould Rams Tuesday night at Chickasaw Gym. While the final score showed a double-digit loss, the Chicks were only down three with the ball with under two minutes to play in the game.
Wynne (5-4 5A-East) is coming off a 46-41 loss at Forrest City Tuesday night. This will be the third meeting between the Chicks and Yellowjackets with Wynne coming out on top in both contests.
"We've played at their place already this season," said Blytheville head coach Jeff Flanigan. "We've played well at times in both games but had some points where we couldn't score baskets."
On Jan. 18, at Chickasaw Gym, the Chicks shot just 27 percent from the field and under 40 percent from the free throw line in a 60-56 loss. In December, the Chicks held a seven-point first half lead before going nearly a quarter and a half without scoring in a 21-point loss.
Wynne was led by Keenan Halk and Tasmania Jones in the second matchup. Jones, who is a huge presence in the lane at 6-foot-5, kept the Chicks' defense on its toes.
"Jones is so strong inside," said Flanigan. "We didn't have much film on him the first time because they picked him up in the second semester. He changes a lot of things. We've worked on our execution and trying to just neutralize what he's able to do."
Blytheville has shot much better from the field as of late (over 50 percent against Beebe and just under 50 percent against Paragould) but the Chicks haven't been able to put the finishing touches on a win. They need to get a win quickly because their chances of making the 5A state playoffs are nearly gone.
Wynne currently holds the fourth position in the 5A-East at 5-4 followed by Greene County Tech and Nettleton, who both hold 4-5 records in the fifth spot. The Yellowjackets are four games ahead of the Chicks with five games remaining. A loss on Friday night will eliminate the Chicks from playoff contention for the second year in a row.
"It's a battle of wills when you're not winning," said Flanigan. "We've been working on developing our mental toughness all season and it doesn't get any tougher than it is right now. I can tell you one thing, we're not going to give in. This kids are still responding. We've continued to have some tough practices and there is no quit in this team."
Friday night's action begins at 5 p.m. with the boys "B" game followed by the girls varsity and concluding with the boys varsity.