This Saturday during the Elite Eight round of the 5A state tournament, the Picayune Maroon Tide (18-8) boys basketball team will host the Wayne County War Eagles (19-9).
After the Maroon Tide’s second round win against South Jones Braves last Saturday, Head Coach Eric Vianney felt his players were unsatisfied with the win.
“They didn’t feel like they played well.
And maybe that’s good, they recognized that they were probably better than that team and they didn’t perform like it,” said Vianney, “We made a lot of mistakes but those mistakes are correctable and fixable so we have a week to try and correct that.”
The Maroon Tide and the War Eagles have met previously this season on Dec. 28 where the Maroon Tide came out on top 52-50.
“They’re similar to South Jones but a little better.
They have guards that can shoot; they play well on the post so that can be a challenge.
They always extend their defense to a 1-2-1-1 full court zone trap kind of defense,” Vianney said.
Vianney has noticed sudden defensive changes from opponents.
In the team’s last two games, opposing teams have switched up their defense to try and throw Picayune’s rhythm off.
Through this week of preparation, the Maroon Tide will be correcting the mistakes made in last Saturday’s game. Come Saturday, Vianney expects his players to bring more energy, better defense, focus to detail, rebounding, communication, tempo and handle the War Eagles defensive pressure to get a win.
“We’re looking forward to it,” he said.
Tip off for this Elite Eight match-up is set for Saturday Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. on the Maroon Tide’s own turf.