The Pine Bluff Zebras and the White Hall Bulldogs competed hard against national-caliber teams in Pine Bluff's King Cotton Holiday Classic last week. But they didn't play each other.
Tonight, though, the showdown between the two 5A-South Conference rivals tips off at 7 p.m. in White Hall High School. Both schools' junior varsity boys and varsity girls teams play prior to the game.
The Zebras (9-6, 4-0) and the Bulldogs (12-6, 3-0) are tied for first in the 5A-South Conference. That will all change tonight.
"That's the irony of the entire game," Bulldogs Coach Josh Hayes said. "We're tied for first place in conference, and we are rivals."
Hayes said that a hard early-season schedule and the King Cotton games prepared the Bulldogs for an upcoming tough conference slate, one that Hayes has been building for over the past two years.
In 2020, Hayes took over the Bulldogs' program, going from 5-19 in 2020-21 to 8-18 in 2021-22. The Bulldogs have already surpassed last season's win total with one of the best shooters in the state, sophomore Jai'Chaunn Hayes, who is Josh's son.
In the Bulldogs' first King Cotton game they beat the Grissom Tigers of Huntsville, Ala., 65-64. On the tournament's second day, White Hall lost to Greenforest-McCalep Christian Academic Center of Decatur, Ga., 54-47. In their last game, the Bulldogs took on the Silsbee, Texas Tigers in the battle for the Creed Bracket championship, losing 84-80.
The Bulldogs played at home against the Benton Panthers on Tuesday, winning 64-57. That game snapped the Panthers' 2-0 conference win streak.
Although the Panthers (10-5, 2-1 in 5A-South) won last week in the Sheridan Invitation Tournament, they were no match for the Bulldogs. They led at halftime, 32-25, but that changed with a tough Bulldogs offense.
Even with Jai Hayes, the tallest Bulldog at 6-7, fouling out against the Panthers, the rest of the team stepped up to meet the challenge.
"We won by seven without Jai," Josh Hayes said. "That showed us that even without him that other guys can step up. The King Cotton prepared our team. This is why you do it to get ready for conference. I feel good about it [the Pine Bluff game]. Our guys are prepared."
The Zebras made it to the King Bracket final after challenging two other teams for the spot -- beating the Fort Bend, Texas Elkins Knights, 47-38, and McEachern Indians of Powder Springs, Ga., 48-45.
The Zebras lost in the final to the Beaumont, Texas United Timberwolves, 53-52, at the buzzer. On Tuesday, they traveled to Hot Springs Lakeside (5-7, 0-3), winning 69-38.
Last year, the Zebras beat second-place Lakeside 49-37 to win the 5A-South Conference for the second year in a row. The Zebras are looking to repeat that championship success this year.
"For us, it's a conference game," Zebras Coach Billy Dixon said. "We go in to that game to win and it will set us up for how you can get to that championship. I tell my guys to stay focus and balanced."
Dixon commended Hayes and his team for playing extremely well lately, especially in King Cotton, and said the Bulldogs are "much improved individually and collectively" over last year.
"We are looking for a challenging ballgame, to compete and come out successfully," Dixon said.