The Jefferson City Jays are enjoying the perks of being one of the 16 remaining teams in the Class 6 boys state tournament.
"It's fun to be practicing still," Jefferson City coach Tony Phillips said.
The Jays begin their state playoffs tonight in a sectional road matchup against the Waynesville Tigers. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Jefferson City (12-14) reached the state playoffs for the first time since 2015 with Friday night's 65-63 win against the top-seeded Helias Crusaders in the District 9 Tournament championship game.
"We got out to a lead," said Phillips, whose Jays snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Crusaders. "They would make a run and we would find a way to answer. That's what you have to do this time of year to keep playing."
Waynesville (14-11), the No. 3 seed in District 10, knocked off the top two seeds to win its first district title since 2016. The Tigers upended top-seeded Parkview 43-39 in Friday's title game.
Jefferson City started the season with a 1-8 record but has won eight of its last 11 games. Waynesville opened the season losing three of its first four games but has won five of its last six.
Waynesville won both district games averaging 45 points, while the Jays averaged 67 points in their two wins.
"They want to slow it down," Phillips said. "They've been playing games in the 40s, so it's going to be a battle of who can impose their will, because we want to get up and down and run."
Phillips said Waynesville junior Xay McArthur and senior Mike Lewis will have the ball in their hands a majority of the time.
"Our guys understand that we have to stay in front of the basketball," Phillips said. "If we do that, I like our chances."
Phillips also noted Waynesville utilizes just six players in most games, while the Jays used nine players in Friday's win against Helias.
"It's going to come down to who imposes their will," Phillips said.
Jefferson City senior Sterling DeSha leads the Jays with about 20 points per game. Kevion Pendelton and Michael Onunkwor are each averaging around 10 points per contest.
The winner of tonight's game will play either third-ranked Nixa (25-3) or second-ranked Kickapoo (24-2) at 6 p.m. Friday in the state quarterfinals. With a win, the Jays would be the host team, regardless of their opponent.
Jefferson City is trying to win its first state playoff game since March 2, 2005. The Jays defeated Troy-Buchanan 68-57 in the sectionals before losing 50-44 to Kickapoo in the quarterfinals.