Pine Bluff tops White Hall 78-58 behind Graydon

Kynnedi Barnett of White Hall spins around a Pine Bluff player Tuesday at McFadden Gymnasium. (Special to The Commercial/Jamie Hooks)
Kynnedi Barnett of White Hall spins around a Pine Bluff player Tuesday at McFadden Gymnasium. (Special to The Commercial/Jamie Hooks)


Playing behind Jordon Harris, Deriyon Graydon has learned early how to impact the game on the low post.

Graydon, a sophomore, scored 15 points and totaled 5 rebounds off the bench, helping 5A second-ranked Pine Bluff High School beat White Hall 78-58 on Tuesday at McFadden Gymnasium.

"I just try to go out there and execute the game plan that coach gave us and play hard," Graydon said. "I learned from [Harris] every day, and this is just another learning experience."

Graydon even shared the court with Harris at times, giving the Zebras (18-6, 12-0 in 5A-South) an added rebounding presence. Harris scored 8 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.

Courtney Crutchfield scored a game-high 23 points, and Braylen Hall knocked down 18 points (including five 3-point baskets) for Pine Bluff, which is four wins away from an undefeated conference season and closer to its third 5A-South title in a row. Graydon can be considered a factor in making the Zebras a strong contender for their first state championship in eight seasons.

"That's the thing about him," Zebras Coach Billy Dixon said. "He's a good guy. He works hard. He has the right attitude. He's a 4.0 student. I'm telling you, the future we have is really dependent on him, once Jordon slides out."

Randy Emerson led White Hall (15-12, 6-6) with 16 points and Jai'Chaunn Hayes scored 14 in the loss. But the Bulldogs, who had lost 66-61 at home to Pine Bluff on Jan. 6, led by as much as 16-10 in the rematch and were ahead 36-35 at halftime.

"We just weren't executing," Dixon said. "We got caught up in the hype. In the first quarter, what did we do? We just shot the ball. We didn't run any offense. We didn't execute. None of that. I just told the guys, we've got to back to being who we are."

Pine Bluff outscored White Hall 25-13 in the third quarter, controlling the offensive glass and holding White Hall to just three baskets in the period. The 20-point final margin was the Zebras' largest of the game.

Pine Bluff will visit Benton on Friday and play a makeup game at Hot Springs Lakeside on Jan. 16 with another road game at Texarkana on Jan. 17. White Hall will host Texarkana on Friday.

GIRLS

White Hall 48, Pine Bluff 36

Also at McFadden Gym, White Hall (9-13, 4-8 in 5A-South) overcame a 3-point deficit through one quarter and held Pine Bluff (0-18, 0-12) scoreless for 7 minutes of the second quarter, on its way to a win on the short road.

Kenedi Bowman scored 15 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs. Kaylon Lockett scored 9 of her 11 points in the first quarter for Pine Bluff.

White Hall was ahead 21-15 at halftime.


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