Zebras clinch 5A-South title again
No matter what happens from here, Pine Bluff High School is a conference champion in boys basketball again.
The Zebras finished the deed with the help of a big third quarter from sophomore standout Courtney Crutchfield and dug out of a halftime deficit to beat second-place Hot Springs Lakeside 49-37 in McFadden Gymnasium. Pine Bluff won the 5A-South Conference for the second year in a row — extending its lead on Lakeside in the standings to three games with two remaining.
Crutchfield scored 10 of his 20 points in a pivotal third quarter as the Zebras (18-6, 12-0 in 5A-South) outscored the Rams 18-6, scoring one more point in those 8 minutes than they had in the first 16.
“We were slacking, so Coach told us to pick it up,” said Zebras senior guard Troy’reon Ramos, who fired in 13 points. “We knew we were slacking, so we had to come out and play harder and play as a team and get the ball out.”
Lake Hamilton, which went into Friday’s games with three conference losses, will visit Pine Bluff in the Zebras’ home finale Monday, with the Zebras visiting Texarkana on Tuesday to close the regular season. The 5A state tournament is scheduled for the following week in Sheridan.
Lake Hamilton handed Pine Bluff its most recent 5A-South loss on March 1 last year. One of the Wolves’ inner-Garland County rivals, Lakeside (17-6, 9-3), appeared poised to end the Zebras’ conference winning streak after leading 21-17 at halftime.
“We came out sluggish and we had some distractions,” Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said. “They normally play to the level of competition, so we normally push the ball up and get out in transition, but if you noticed, we were walking the ball up. We were taking our time moving the ball.”
In typical Pine Bluff fashion, the Zebras’ half-court defense in the second half led to fast breaks on the other end, and the other team went into chase mode the rest of the game.
Pine Bluff hardly celebrated winning the conference after the final horn, but junior Jordon
Harris made sure to throw a block party of a different sort. The center blocked 6 shots to go with 11 points and 8 rebounds.
“It feels good that we accomplished stuff,” Ramos said. “We’ve just got to keep going farther.”
Taevon Johnson scored 12 points to lead Lakeside, but he was held to a free throw in the second half. Atreal Howard had 8 points and 4 rebounds for the Rams.
WATSON CHAPEL 59, MONTICELLO 27 (THU.)
In Monticello, Antwon Emsweller scored 23 points for the second game in a row, and the Wildcats (18-8, 12-2 in 4A-8) finished their regular season in dominating fashion over the Billies (12-12, 9-5), who were fighting to stay in third place in Conference 4A-8.
Emsweller grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double and blocked a shot. Christopher Fountain scored 14 points, totaled 9 rebounds and made 2 assists; Khamani Cooper chalked up 11 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; and Jalyn Jones had 7 points and 4 assists for the Wildcats.
Watson Chapel, which had already clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference, will play the No. 3 team in 7-4A at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the 4A South Region tournament at Nashville. The winner of that game automatically qualifies for the state tournament in Magnolia.
GIRLS
HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE 39,
PINE BLUFF 28
At McFadden Gym on Friday, the Lady Rams (16-7, 10-2 in 5A-South) weathered a defensive second half in which they barely outscored the Fillies 13-11.
T’Ceana Jeffery scored 11 points for Pine Bluff. Ronni Formby led Lakeside with 9 points, all on 3-point baskets.
Pine Bluff will tip off against Lake Hamilton at 5 p.m. Monday.
★★★
Also Thursday, Watson Chapel beat Monticello 39-24.