Zebras show no rust in 1st game after layoff
SHERIDAN — Pine Bluff last played a basketball game Dec. 18, but it hardly showed in the way the Zebras played Saturday.
The Zebras made up one of the five missed 5A-South conference games from their 36-day layoff and dominated Sheridan for a 62-29 victory in Yellowjacket Arena, leaving coach Billy Dixon pleased.
“We’ve been off for over 30 days, and we’ve had the holiday breaks that separated practice,” Dixon said. “We got hit with covid. We’ve still got kids that are out. We’ve had piecemeal practices for the last month with seven kids in the gym at a time, seven kids this time — maybe eight kids this time — so, real pleased to come out and perform the way we did.”
The Zebras returned to practice Wednesday, Dixon said, and held a light workout Friday.
Dixon was concerned about how the Zebras (2-4, 1-0 in 5A-South) would adjust to their opponents’ style of play going into Saturday’s game, but the road team alleviated those concerns.
“When you haven’t had all your guys in the gym to go through those situations, that was it,” Dixon said. “There were a couple of times we became stagnated, but fortunately enough we had a comfortable lead. We’re trying to prepare for what’s in the future because we’re going to have so many games back-to-back where we’re limited to no practice time in between.”
Pine Bluff sank seven 3-point baskets, including four from Troy’reon Ramos in the first quarter alone, and got 23 points from Courtney Crutchfield, who made the other three from behind the arc.
Ramos said he was confident his shooting touch wouldn’t let him down despite the long wait.
“Yeah, that’s what I do,” he said, grinning. “It feels good to be back playing on the court with my team.”
“It was hard [not playing], but we communicated with each other and stuff, and we made it work,” said Jordon Harris, the Zebras’ 6-foot-6 sophomore who received a scholarship offer from Oral Roberts University. Harris had five points, with two of them coming on a contested right-handed jam in the second quarter.
Pine Bluff trailed by no more than two points on two occasions in the first 2½ minutes and was tied with Sheridan (8-5, 1-2) at 7-7 until Ramos went on his 3-point barrage, which accounted for all 12 of his points. Jalen Tatum scored all nine of his points in the second quarter to expand a 19-11 first-quarter lead to 34-17 at halftime.
Crutchfield warmed up in the second half with 16 points, and the Zebras hardly missed a beat on defense in holding the Yellowjackets to 12 points in that span.
Chris Crew led Sheridan with 11 points, and Ethan Odom contributed nine.
Dixon will hold a full practice Monday before the Zebras host Hot Springs Lakeside at approximately 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. The game is designated as senior night, but Pine Bluff will have six more home games after that.
GIRLS SHERIDAN 67, PINE BLUFF 49
In Sheridan, the Fillies (04, 0-1 in 5A-South) were not as lucky in their long-awaited return to the court, but firstyear coach Fess Thompson came away with positives.
“I was actually impressed with how they played,” Thompson said. “I already watched the film. We’ve got some minor adjustments to make. I think we allowed them to shoot too many free throws in the first half. If they shoot 10 less free throws, the game is totally different. The game was won at the free throw line.
“I was proud of the girls. Even though they were down, they fought from the start.”
The Lady Jackets improved to 7-5, and 4-2 in conference, with the win.
Thompson said having junior point guard T’ceana Jeffery fall into foul trouble early did not help the Fillies’ cause, but he added that Jeffery continued to play tough during the time she was on the court.
He credited freshman Sa’vhanna Obasade and sophomore Caitlyn Darrough with strong play off the bench and senior guard/forward Charlese Colen with stepping up in leadership and making 3-point baskets that he said were “huge.”
“She’s the backbone of this team,” Thompson said of Colen. “They’re all an inspiration.”