The Pine Bluff Zebras are pacing well in their 5A-South Conference race.
After coming back from a 36-day delay because of covid-19 issues, Pine Bluff on Tuesday won its ninth game in 18 days -- and its fourth game in the previous five days -- with a 73-38 home decision over Lake Hamilton to remain atop the conference. Pine Bluff knocked off Hot Springs 72-47 on the road Monday.
"We had great team effort on defense," Zebras Coach Billy Dixon said. "The guys were talking loud, active hands, the rotations were good and our energy level was high. Our goal was to improve our defensive effort and give other teammates an opportunity to play. We accomplished our goal by playing 14 players. This allowed our starters time to rest."
Pine Bluff had three players in double figures for the second straight game. Against Lake Hamilton, Jalen Tatum scored 16 points, Courtney Crutchfield had 15 and Armand Buckhanan totaled 12.
Lake Hamilton fell to 10-8 and 4-3 in the 5A-South.
At Hot Springs on Monday, freshman Crutchfield netted 22 points; senior Tatum 20 points; and sophomore Jordon Harris 14 points, 15 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Pine Bluff scored 29 points in the fourth quarter.
Hot Springs is now 9-12 and 3-6 in the 5A-South.
With five games remaining, the Zebras are catching a breather from their busy schedule before returning to action Friday at White Hall for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff, followed by rematch with third-place Lake Hamilton at 6:30 p.m. Saturday in Pearcy.
Watson Chapel 75, Star City 68
In Star City, Antwon Emsweller's big night proved very beneficial to the streaking Wildcats.
Emsweller scored 30 points and nearly reached a double-double with eight rebounds, helping the Wildcats (8-6, 7-2 in 4A-8) earn their sixth win in a row.
Khamani Cooper had 15 points, Keshun Brown 10 points and 5 assists; Christopher Fountain 9 points, 5 rebounds and a block; and Kamron Wilkins 7 points, 4 boards and 6 assists for Watson Chapel.
Star City fell to 6-18 and 3-9 in 4A-8.
Watson Chapel will finish its regular season at home Friday against Warren. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Dollarway 58, LISA Academy West 20
At Dollarway, Senior Night went quite swell for the Cardinals (10-7, 9-4 in 3A-6).
Dollarway won its seventh game in the past eight and will look to earn a regular-season sweep of DeWitt on the road today. Tipoff is set for approximately 6 p.m.
HS Lakeside 56, White Hall 41
In Hot Springs, the Bulldogs (5-15, 1-8 in 5A-South) fell to their sixth consecutive loss and hope to break the slide Friday night at home against Pine Bluff.
GIRLS
Star City 51, Watson Chapel 19
In Star City, the 4A second-ranked Ladydogs (22-3, 13-0 in 4A-8) set the tone for the night with a 16-2 first quarter and held the Lady Wildcats (10-10, 8-4) to single-digit scoring in each period.
Janiya Johnson scored 14 points to lead Star City, which led 30-9 at halftime.
Tatyana Barbee and Keyundra Sanders each scored five points for Watson Chapel, which is still a game ahead of Crossett for third place in the conference.
Watson Chapel has its regular-season finale at home against Warren at 6 p.m. Friday.
Dollarway 50, LISA Academy West 32
At Dollarway, the Lady Cardinals (2-15, 2-10 in 3A-6) earned the season sweep of the Jaguars (1-15, 0-13).
Dollarway's regular-season finale is today at DeWitt, with tipoff scheduled for 5 p.m.
Lake Hamilton 59, Pine Bluff 27
In Pine Bluff, the Fillies dropped to 0-9 and 0-6 in the 5A-South after the conference-leading Lady Wolves (18-3, 9-0) outscored them by 32 in McFadden Gymnasium.
Pine Bluff has games on back-to-back days this week, first at White Hall at 6 p.m. Friday and the rematch at Lake Hamilton at 5 p.m. Saturday.
HS Lakeside 50, White Hall 37
In Hot Springs, the Lady Bulldogs (10-11, 2-7 in 5A-South) sought back-to-back victories for the first time since Dec. 29-30, but the Lady Rams (15-6, 8-2) proved tough while staying within two games of Lake Hamilton for first place.
White Hall will host Pine Bluff on Friday.