Tonight will be Watson Chapel’s third boys basketball game in four days, but Pine Bluff coach Ronald Moragne doesn’t count on the Wildcats to be tired from their travels to Cabot for the Pre-Holiday Tournament there. Or Dollarway to be worn down from playing five games this week.
“We’re not going to make any excuses,” first-year Wildcats coach Matt Busch said. “They’re kids, and kids like playing basketball.”
Said Pine Bluff coach Ronald Moragne: “The adrenaline’s going to be flowing, they’re going to be pumped, so it doesn’t matter how many games they play. They’re going to come with energy and come with some fire to win a basketball game.”
So will the more-rested Zebras (3-2), who have waited a week to bounce back from a 52-51 loss to Cabot.
“The guys are excited about it,” Moragne said. “They’re wanting to play. We know we let one slip away (last Friday); that’s all we’ve been talking about.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Pine Bluff starts a swing of two games against crosstown rivals, with a home game against Dollarway (6-1) coming Monday night. When Dollarway visits McFadden Gymnasium, the Cardinals will have played three games in the Central Arkansas Christian Classic and hosted Fordyce (a 38-36 win Tuesday) and Lake Village (tonight) in a six-day span.
But first, Moragne and Co. visit a Watson Chapel team that’s taking a break from the road, sort of. Watson Chapel was 2-0 going into Thursday’s game against Benton in the Pre-Holiday Tournament and will play another game there Saturday.
“It’s a crosstown rivalry,” Moragne said. “No matter what team they’ve got and what kind of team we’ve got, it’s always going to be a hard-fought, competitive ballgame. Going into their place, they’re going to be a little bit more motivated to play because they want to win their home game.”
This will be the Wildcats’ home opener and Busch’s debut in the city rivalry.
“I’m kind of new to the Pine Bluff-Watson Chapel rivalry, but we’re looking forward to going home,” Busch said before the Benton game. “We’ve been traveling to Cabot and we hadn’t gotten home until about midnight or so, and we’ll be able to play a game and be home at a decent hour. But we’re trying to concentrate on Benton.”
Trying not to overlook Thursday’s game for Pine Bluff, Busch said the Wildcats focused on Benton in a must-win game. The winner will play for the Pre-Holiday championship Saturday.
Tonight, the Zebras want to avoid falling behind against the Wildcats, Moragne said. Pine Bluff went on a 13-0 run to take a 49-48 lead against Cabot but gave up a go-ahead putback by Sam Howe with 19.3 seconds remaining and did not get off a shot before the final buzzer.
It was a defensive battle then, and Moragne is counting on the defense to come through again — and the Zebras to establish their own tempo.
“We want to be a running team, anyway, so we’re going to play the same way against anybody,” Moragne said. “We’re going to get the ball out, we’re going to run, we’re going to play a little up-tempo. That’s what we’re going to have to do. We’re not very big, so we have to try to beat people down the floor and score.”
The Zebras also will have their eyes on slowing down junior JoviOne Bailey, the Wildcats’ only returning starter from last season. Bailey scored 20 points in a 58-52 win over Wynne on Tuesday.
“They run their offense through him,” Moragne said. “He touches the ball about every time down the floor. We’ve just got to be smart. We know he can shoot it. We know he’s going to score. We’ve got to compete with him. We’ve got to help. If he beats one guy, we’ve got to have somebody to help.”
If anything concerns Moragne the most, it’s winning the rebounding war against the Wildcats. The Zebras were outrebounded 29-16 by Cabot a week ago.
“They’re long and aggressive, and they do a good job rebounding the basketball,” Moragne said.