Zebras score only 2 points in overtime
5A-CENTRAL BOYS
PINE BLUFF 59, LR HALL 57, OT
Pine Bluff caught its second wind about the same time Little Rock Hall needed a breather Friday night at Cirks Arena.
The Zebras (6-5, 2-2 5A-Central) needed two free throws by Logan Smith with 4.1 seconds to play in regulation to force overtime, then scored on Armand Buckhanan’s strong left-handed drive to the basket with 1:04 to play in the extra period to pull out a 59-57 5A-Central victory.
“They made the pressurized plays, and we didn’t,” Hall Coach Jon Coleman said.
Those plays by Smith and Buckhanan, the only points scored by Pine Bluff after it built a 55-44 lead with 4:41 to play, were needed to rescue the Zebras from what was almost a heartbreaking collapse.
“It did unravel at a point,” Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said. “All of a sudden, the game sped up for our guys.”
Hall (6-6, 2-2) turned the 55-44 deficit into a 57-55 lead with 1:01 to play in the fourth quarter behind the play of Brock Wesley (16 points, 14 in the second half), Dylan Sessions (18 points) and the threepoint shooting of C.J. Miller (13 points).
It was Wesley’s two free throws that gave Hall the lead, but the Warriors could not build on it as Pine Bluff got the ball back with 9.1 seconds to play.
That’s when Smith drove the length of the court under defensive pressure and was fouled as he drove to the basket with 4.1 seconds to play. Smith made both free throws to force overtime at 57-57.
It was at that point Dixon decided the Zebras were going to slow things down, and they did for nearly three minutes.
“The whole overtime period we kept the ball on one end until we got what we knew,” Dixon said. “We felt like we could get the high-low action on them, and that’s what we got. It was our best strategy.”
Buckhanan scored the only points of overtime when he drove using a left-handed move around Sessions and Wesley.
“Wait them out,” Buckhanan said of Pine Bluff’s overtime strategy. “Patience is always key for us. We got it together, saw them going to sleep, and knew we had to get the quick bucket.
“I remember Coach said attack downhill, get the big man in trouble. That’s what I tried to do. We’ve been waiting on this win. Good win.”
Buckhanan said the Zebras’ coaches had prepared them to face Hall’s press.
“Any time they get down, trying to make a comeback, they’re going to come with the pressure,” Buckhanan said. “We had to be patient. We got a little sleepy on it, but we faced it and got the win.”
Coleman saluted Pine Bluff for its game plan and his team for its rally after trailing for all but the first three minutes of the first quarter.
“I thought Pine Bluff did a good job of being really physical and really aggressive,” Coleman said. “They led most of the game, so they were able to control the tempo. I take my hat off to my guys because we found a way to get back into the basketball game.”
Coleman said he made a decision to keep his team in its zone as Pine Bluff worked the clock in overtime.
“That was a call on my part,” he said. “A lot of times when you do hold the ball like that you may make an errant pass, but ultimately we were going to hit them with a trap, but I couldn’t get everybody on the same page.”
5A-CENTRAL GIRLS
LR HALL 50, PINE BLUFF 46
Asia Yarbrough scored 15 points and Kataria Dismuke had 13 to lead Hall (214, 1-3 5A-Central) to a victory over Pine Bluff (2-10, 0-4).
Hall built a 29-19 lead midway through the third quarter before the Lady Zebras rallied to make it 33-31 entering the fourth quarter.
Hall led 47-34 with 2:41 to play and held on.