NATCHEZ — Tonight, Natchez High School will attempt something that no other team has been able to do this season: beat Wingfield High School.

The Falcons sit at a perfect 24-0, 4-0 in district play, and Bulldogs assistant David Haywood knows his players have their work cut out for them when they travel to Jackson tonight.

“You have to deal with the crowd in games like this,” Haywood said. “When you go on the road against tough teams, the calls seem to go against you. You just have to be ready for the typical home team advantage things.”

This Wingfield team isn’t simply a tough team, however. Haywood said the Falcons don’t appear to have any holes in their starting lineup.

“They just have a team of really good players as a whole,” Haywood said. “They have one guy that’s already signed with Southern Miss, but he’s surrounded by other good basketball players.

“They play aggressive, man-to-man defense and like to push the ball early. On offense, they shoot a bunch of outside shots and penetrate well.”

The Bulldogs played Wingfield once already this season, dropping a close game 75-73 at home Dec. 4.

“Our defense was pretty good that game,” Haywood said. “Early on, we didn’t play as hard as we did down the stretch. They were missing shots down the stretch that they were making early on because we didn’t have the kind of pressure early on that we needed to.

“That’s the only way we gives ourselves a chance to win any game. Our defense has to be there for four quarters.”

In order to not make the same mistakes they did against Wingfield in December, Haywood said his players would have to quickly overcome any nerves they might have.

“We have to come out and just shake the little pre-game jitters early. You have to play hard defense. You might miss a shot here and there playing in their gym, with the crowd being loud and them being in your face. But if you can just limit their shots and not let them get out to a 20-point lead, you’ll be there at the end of the game.”

In his experience, the pre-game jitters are usually easy to overcome in the first minute of play, Haywood said.

“I can’t speak for my guys, but when I played, it probably lasted maybe the first minute, if that,” Haywood said. “For me as a shooter, when you get your first shot off, whether you miss it or make it, you come into an ease factor right then.”

Natchez (14-9, 2-3) currently sits at No. 2 in its district and looks to remain there, Haywood said.

“I think this is the last game for everyone in our district. Nobody’s beaten Wingfield, and we have a tie-breaker against Terry and Jim Hill.”

After a slow start to the season, Haywood said he credits an influx of players from the football team for the Bulldogs’ turnaround.

“Early on, we knew we had the potential, but we just couldn’t find the right chemistry,” Haywood said. “We had a couple of guys come in off the football team that helped us out, and now we’re playing our best basketball.

“You can ask any basketball coach in the country, and they’ll tell you this is the best time to be playing your best basketball, with district tournaments coming up.”