When Fred Hearne came on board as the new Jonesboro-Hodge High School boys basketball coach this past fall, he knew he had a daunting task in bringing the Tiger program back to their vaunted tradition of excellence.
With a rich history of five state championships, four times being state runner-up and five times reaching the state semifinals, the Tigers program suffered through a 5-20 season last year, the worst record in JHHS history since 1947-48.
From day one, Hearne tinkered with the Tiger lineup trying to find that combination of parts that would make JHHS a fine running machine once again. With JHHS winning four games in five days this past week, it is apparent Hearne’s continued work and dedication of finding a successful combination of players is paying dividends.
On February 7th, the Tigers were sitting with a 5-18 overall record and were winless in district 1-1A play. After winning five games in the last 8 days, including their last three district contests, JHHS is now on a season best five game winning streak, which equals the most straight victories since the 2019-20 season.
JHHS 65 Calvin 49: Pierce Ulloa cored 15 points on the strength of five 3-pointers to lead four Tigers who reached double figures in points. Joining the “double digit” club was Ariy’un Bradford with 14, and both D.J. Palmer and Samuel Combs who finished with 10 points apiece. Also contributing was Skyler Strickland who scored six points, Channing Gray and Dylan Hayes with four each and Tyson Burks with a fourth quarter basket.
JHHS 76 Glenbrook 48: Nine players scored as the Tigers set a new season best scoring standard. JHHS was led by D.J. Palmer with 21 points followed by Skyler Strickland, who set a new career best points total with 14. Ariy’un Bradford also reached double figures in scoring with 12 followed by 8 points from Pierce Ulloa Addtional contributors were Kamerin Bradley with 7, Channing Gray finished with five, Samuel Combs had four, Jeramiah Jefferson hit a three pointer, and Dylan Hayes scored a basket.
JHHS 70 Weston 53: For the second straight game, JHHS reached the 70 point mark and saw nine players score. Leading the offensive onslaught was Pierce Ulloa, who nailed a career best six shots from three point land which led to another career high, in 18 points. Ariy’un Bradford and Tyson Burks scored 11 and 10 points respectively followed by 9 points by D.J. Palmer, 7 points from Kamerin Bradley and 6 by Skylar Strickland. Also scoring was Samuel Combs and Dylan Hayes with four points each and Channing Gray who made a free throw. Weston, who fell to 7-24 on the year was led by Nathin Wages with 20 points and Daniel Williams who scored 13. Brody Tidwell finished with 9 and Lajavion Harris had 8 points. Hunter Donaldson chipped in with three points as well.
JHHS 67 Cedar Creek 51: The wins kept coming as four Tigers reached double figures in points led by Dylan Hayes, who set a new career best with 16 points. Ariy’un Bradford scored 13, D.J. Palmer added 12 and Kamerin Bradley tallied 10 followed by 7 points from Pierce Ulloa, and 4 from Tyson Burks. Also contributing was Samuel Combs who made a third quarter three pointer and Channing Gray who added a basket.
JHHS will close out their regular season at home on February 20th when they welcome a strong 17-6 Bastrop squad.
District 1-1A Standings
| TEAM | DISTRICT RECORD | OVERALL RECORD |
| Ringgold | 6-1 | 11-17 |
| Lincoln Prep | 5-1 | 22-7 |
| Arcadia | 5-1 | 16-6 |
| Haynesville | 5-2 | 14-2 |
| Jonesboro-Hodge | 3-4 | 10-18 |
| Cedar Creek | 2-5 | 12-9 |
| Glenbrook | 1-6 | 3-16 |
| Plain Dealing | 0-7 | 0-22 |
Lady Tigers look toward postseason
A 12-19 overall record, including a 3-4 mark in district 1-1A play, may not seem to be a very productive season, unless you understand the depths the Lady Tigers had sunk to the last two years.
After suffering through 3-23 and 6-28 seasons over the past couple of years, the improvement shown by JHHS in head coach Shan Jackson’s second year is actually pretty remarkable, especially when you consider the strength of the season schedule and the teams in district 1-1A.
Sixteen times JHHS has played a team with a winning record, including nine games against a team that have won 20 games or more. That includes playing in a district that sports the #2 ranked team (Arcadia) among Division IV “non-select” schools and the #2 rated team (Cedar Creek) among “select” schools.
Add to the fact that the Lady Tigers have won three more games overall than the last two seasons combined and two district games more over the same period then despite the record, the 2024-25 season has been if not a success, certainly a move in the right direction.
This past week, what was the toughest gauntlet of the season resulted in JHHS losing three of the four games played but because the teams faced were so good, (three with 20+ wins) the Lady Tigers, now ranked #21 in the Division IV power rankings, closed out their regular season with postseason plans still ahead.
Calvin 62 JHHS 42: All but one on the Lady Tigers rosters scored led by 14 from Morgan McGee but the 7th ranked school in Class C which has a lofty 28-6 record, proved to be to strong. Sanaa Tatum chipped in with 9, LaKayla McGuire scored 6, Kheri Lard finished with five, Nesha Johnson had four points and both Tyya Davis and Jalenya Jackson tallied two points each.
JHHS 46 Glenbrook 34: With Morgan McGee scoring 12 and Nesha Johnson adding 10 points, the Lady Tigers snapped their five game losing streak. Sanaa Tatum and Tyya Davis added 9 and 8 points respectively in the well balanced effort while Jalenya Jackson hit a first quarter three pointer and both LaKayla McGuire and Jakhorielle Lard scored a basket each.
Cedar Creek 51 JHHS 23: A slow start that saw JHHS score only 8 first half points, including just one in the second quarter spelled doom against the district 1-1A champions. Morgan McGee led JHHS with 9 points followed by Sanaa Tatum with 6 and Angel Moss with five. Jaylena Jackson tallied two and Tyya Davis added a free throw in the regular season final.
Final District 1-1A Standings
| TEAM | DISTRICT RECORD | OVERALL RECORD |
| Cedar Creek | 7-0 | 26-3 |
| Arcadia | 6-1 | 25-4 |
| Ringgold | 5-2 | 8-15 |
| Plain Dealing | 4-3 | 15-14 |
| Jonesboro-Hodge | 3-4 | 12-19 |
| Glenbrook | 2-5 | 3-14 |
| Lincoln Prep | 1-6 | 2-18 |
| Haynesville | 0-7 | 4-17 |