A Pine Bluff High School junior guard took over Tuesday night to lead the Zebras to a third straight victory in boys basketball.
Quentin Adams led Pine Bluff to an 80-72 win against El Dorado at the former Jack Robey Junior High School campus. Adams scored 31 points, making a difference in a game which featured 18 ties and 13 lead changes.
Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said Adams has been great for the Zebras (6-12, 5-4 in 5A-South) all season.
“We gotta have somebody to score the ball, and tonight, he did a super job of putting the ball in the hole for us, getting those tough shots,” Dixon said. “I don’t know what he finished with tonight on the boards, but normally he’s heavy for us on the boards. He’s one of those guys that we gotta have scoring from.”
Zebra senior Quintin Roy added 13 points. Senior Herman Gill Jr. led the Wildcats (9-13, 1-8) with 25.
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Pine Bluff trailed 49-47 entering the fourth quarter, but Adams quickly tied the game. Gill gave the Wildcats the lead back with a three-point play, but Pine Bluff sophomore Collin Solomon tied the game before Adams put the Zebras in front, 54-52.
That was the final lead change, though the Wildcats tied the game five times afterward. El Dorado took a timeout with 2:16 remaining after Adams completed a three-point play to put the Zebras up 68-63.
El Dorado responded quickly. Senior Donovan Mitchell scored while drawing a foul, giving him a chance to tie the game at the free throw line, but the Wildcats received a technical foul immediately after the play with 1:23 remaining.
Mitchell finished the three-point play to tie the game at 68, but Pine Bluff senior Malik Terry made both technical free throws to quickly retake the lead. The Zebras got possession, and Solomon scored to make it a two-possession game.
El Dorado had to begin fouling, and Pine Bluff made each of its six free throws in the final 33.8 seconds to secure its second win this season against the Wildcats.
Dixon said the players have grown more mature, which helped them start this three-game winning streak.
“I contribute it to these guys learning, understanding better, and I’ll give it to the kids: they’re listening and being a little bit more coachable now,” Dixon said. “We went through a period of, we thought we were better than what we were. Reality set in. The guys are really listening and paying attention now to what we’re trying to get done.”
This win, combined with Lake Hamilton losing to Sheridan, put the Zebras alone in fourth place in the 5A-South Conference. After starting the season 1-8, including an 0-2 start to conference play, Pine Bluff now has a winning conference record and sits in a state playoff spot.
GIRLS: El Dorado 49, Pine Bluff 14
Points were hard to come by for the Pine Bluff girls Tuesday night.
Pine Bluff (1-18, 0-9) scored nine points in the first half and five in the second, keeping the Fillies out of the game despite keeping their opponents’ offense in check at times.
El Dorado senior forward Amiria Jackson matched the Fillies’ total with 14 points, while fellow senior Makiyah Mitchell added 10. They were among 10 scorers for the Lady Wildcats (10-11, 6-3).
Pine Bluff got points from six players, led by junior Kennedy Sanders with four.
Pine Bluff led 3-2 early before El Dorado went on an 18-0 run. The Fillies trailed 24-9 at halftime but started the second half by keeping the Lady Wildcats scoreless until the 3:29 mark of the third quarter. Pine Bluff didn’t take advantage of El Dorado’s drought, failing to score until the 1:25 mark.
