Zebras rebound from first loss in conference to wrap up title

A conference race that had its share of hurdles has been run, and the Pine Bluff Zebras finished first.

Pine Bluff put the finishing touches on a race that, at times, was more of a sprint to the finish than a well-paced marathon by defeating the Texarkana Razorbacks 67-55 at McFadden Gymnasium on Wednesday night — and then cutting down the net in celebration of the 5A-South championship, which was secured days earlier.

“We were ready to play tonight,” said senior Jalen Tatum, who scored all 12 of his points in the first quarter. “We had a game plan. We just got the win.”

The Zebras (15-4, 13-1 in 5A-South) finished the conference season at least three games ahead of the closest competitors, Lake Hamilton and Hot Springs Lakeside. It was Lake Hamilton that ended Pine Bluff’s bid for perfection, 61-52, on Monday in Pearcy.

“We needed a day of rest,” Zebras Coach Billy Dixon said. “We actually worked [Tuesday] just because we needed to, a day to correct what you didn’t get done the first time around, and that’s exactly what happened.”

The Zebras finished the conference slate with four games in eight days after snowstorms and resulting water system issues impacting all of Pine Bluff put their season on pause for 12 days last month. The team had already waited 36 days from December to January due to covid-19 cases and resulting protocols.

Still, in the end, there was a reward.

Along with the ceremony, the Zebras will take on the fourth-place team out of the 5A-West at 7 p.m. March 9 in the first round of the 5A state tournament at Hot Springs High.

“We’ve got to improve,” Tatum said. “We’ve got to do little things, like the 5050s [get loose balls each team has a chance to track down], make free throws … we’ve got to do the little stuff. That’s all that matters.”

Junior Troy’reon Ramos had 15 points — including three 3-point baskets in the second quarter — to lead Pine Bluff. Senior Armand Buckhanan and sophomore Jordon Harris totaled 10 apiece in the win.

Nick Watson scored 16 points and Jordan Jones totaled 11 for the Razorbacks (13-10, 6-8), who trailed 4126 at halftime after being behind 20-15 through the first quarter.

3A REGION 3

BAPTIST PREP 43, DOLLARWAY 26

In Little Rock, the Cardinals (11-8) were outscored 23-3 in the second half after holding a three-point lead as another scoring struggle at Central Arkansas Christian’s gym came back to haunt them.

This time, the loss ended Dollarway’s season in the first round of the 3A Region 3 tournament.

Baptist Prep (21-4) pitched a 9-0 shutout in the third quarter but still led Dollarway by only six points.

“We fell apart in the fourth quarter, just like we did the last time we were here at CAC,” Cardinals Coach James Jones said. That loss on Feb. 5 ended a six-game winning streak that got the fourth-seed Cards within contention of the Conference 3A-6 championship.

Dollarway had last played Feb. 13, but did not have to compete in a district tournament since all 3A-6 games were played. The Feb. 14-17 snowstorms gave the Cards an extra week of rest, as region and state tournaments were pushed back to allow other conferences to seed teams.

“We were kind of tired, out of shape because of that layoff,” Jones said.

He also found positives in the season, including the first winning record in his four seasons at the helm and having won eight of the previous nine games before Wednesday.

Prince Okojie led Dollarway with eight points and Greg McGowan added six.

Baptist Prep will take on either Helena-West Helena Central or Lamar in the semifinal round.