Zebras topple Titans, advance to semis
SEARCY — The reigning state champions pulled away in the second half Friday night to reach the semifinals of the Class 5A basketball tournament.
The Pine Bluff Zebras defeated the Jacksonville Titans 68-46 in the second round at Searcy High School. Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said halftime adjustments are a big part of the Zebras’ strategy.
“It’s just kind of something that we practiced all year, figuring out what they’re bringing to us, what your strengths are, who’s the guys that are really scoring the ball,” Dixon said. “You work that out the first two quarters, then come back the second half, you try to negate that. The kids did an excellent job of that tonight.”
Pine Bluff will play its third game in three days against 5A-Central champion Vilonia or 5A-South runner-up Lake Hamilton at 7:30 p.m. today.
Pine Bluff (22-6) led 29-23 at halftime and quickly built a 10-point lead in the third quarter. The Titans cut it to 37-31, but the Zebras pulled away from there. Pine Bluff led 44-31 after the third, then opened the fourth on a 9-3 run.
Jacksonville (19-12) only got the deficit as close as 57-44 after this. Pine Bluff eventually finished the game on an 8-0 run.
Pine Bluff senior Courtney Crutchfield said halftime adjustments helped the Zebras outscore Jacksonville 39-23 in the second half.
“It’s all about going in the locker room, connecting with the coach, changing things, and picking up on little things that they were doing,” Crutchfield said. “Box out, crash the boards, head into the ball screen hard, and it worked out for us.”
Crutchfield and fellow senior Braylen Hall each scored 16 points, followed by Randy Emerson Jr. with 15. Jacksonville junior Jayce Tillman scored a game-high 18 points, with senior Jason Fox scoring 10.
Emotions can run high with seasons on the line. Jacksonville got called for a flagrant foul on Crutchfield in the first half, then picked up two technical fouls in the second half. One was for having six players on the court, the other for dissent after a foul call. The Zebras had no such fouls called on them.
Dixon said the Zebras’ playoff experience helps in those moments.
“We have four guys that have been here and done it before,” Dixon said. “We had some guys that have come over. They’re buying in to what we do and the way we do it. As long as they listen and they pay attention, and that’s exactly what I said — ‘Be coachable.’ When you on this level, everything is intense, everything is high powered, because it’s either you win, or you go home.”
The Zebras reached this quarterfinal game after defeating Van Buren the day before. Jacksonville, which upset 5A-East champion Nettleton in the first round, had a day off to rest and prepare.
Dixon said the Zebras chose not to spend any nights in Searcy, instead returning home each night.
“We want to go home, [let the] kids get in their beds, eat the foods they normally eat,” Dixon said. “Just come back like another regular game. They understand what’s at stake. I thought we were good in terms of doing it that way.”