Bulldogs win first of two vital games

The first of two vital games in the 5A boys basketball playoff race took place in White Hall on Friday, with the Bulldogs winning round one.

White Hall defeated Hot Springs 46-36, earning the advantage entering the final week of the regular season.

White Hall (13-14, 8-6 in 5A-South) entered the night tied with the Trojans for fourth place in the 5A-South Conference. This win broke the tie for now, but the final playoff spot isn’t yet clinched.

Hot Springs (11-13, 7-7) will host White Hall on Feb. 23. That rematch could decide which team qualifies for the Class 5A state tournament and which team falls short.

White Hall Coach Josh Hayes said the Bulldogs need to build off this win, their third straight.

“I think the way we’re playing defensively, seems like we’re jelling at the right time,” Hayes said. “We gotta carry this week over to next week. If we can keep playing like this and make it hard on teams, making it hard to score … if we can carry that over and keep this defensive tenacity high, I think the sky’s the limit, and anything’s possible next week.”

Jai’Chaunn Hayes led the Bulldogs with a game-high 18 points. Jacoby Edwards followed with 11. Tyrell Honey led Hot Springs with 15 points, with Octavious Rhodes scoring 14.

Jai’Chaunn Hayes said the Bulldogs need to stick to the game plan next week to reach the playoffs.

“We just gotta stay locked in, trust our coaches, and believe in ourselves,” he said. “We’re planning to make history right here, so if everything falls in the right way, then let’s do it.”

White Hall led 17-15 after a low-scoring first half. Rhodes hit the first shot of the second half to tie the game, but Hayes hit two free throws to give the Bulldogs the lead for good.

Neither team led by more than 5 points in the first half, but the Bulldogs finally started to gain some separation in the second. They led by as much as 28-19 in the third quarter before taking their largest lead of the night in the fourth, 42-28.

Hot Springs closed the gap with a late 6-0 run, but there wasn’t enough time for a proper comeback. Edwards finished off the win with his second dunk of the night, firing up the fans in the final moments of White Hall’s last home game this season.

Hayes said he thinks both teams were tight at the start because of the importance of the game but loosened up in the fourth quarter.

“I saw guys just get comfortable,” Hayes said. “On both teams, but especially with us, and I saw us execute things we normally wouldn’t have.”

Before the rematch, White Hall will travel Tuesday to playoff-bound Lake Hamilton, while Hot Springs hosts reigning state champion Pine Bluff. Should White Hall defeat the Wolves and Pine Bluff defeat the Trojans, White Hall would clinch the final playoff spot before its rematch with Hot Springs. Otherwise, it will come down to that game.

GIRLS

White Hall 48, Hot Springs 29

A flurry of 3-pointers helped lead White Hall to a senior night victory against Hot Springs.

Five Lady Bulldogs combined to make nine 3-pointers in White Hall’s 48-29 win. Head coach Dustin Powell said the Lady Bulldogs spend a lot of time in practice working on driving inside and kicking the ball outside, which paid off.

“We shot well,” Powell said. “We’ve struggled shooting from the 3-point line, and we shot pretty well today compared to how we’ve shot this year.”

Kynnedi Barnett led White Hall (14-13, 6-8 in 5A-South) with 11 points, followed by Jelayla Stith with 10. Barnett made nine 3-pointers, while Stith and Kenya Odigwe each made two. Ty’Nivia Jordan and Arabella Thyen made one apiece.

Hot Springs (7-18, 2-12) junior BethAnn Mullenix led the Lady Trojans with 11 points after making three 3-pointers.

The 3-pointers fell early for White Hall. Barnett hit one to open the scoring, then Odigwe made two back-to-back to give the Lady Bulldogs a 9-2 lead. Stith hit one in the second quarter to make it 19-9. Mullenix hit her second 3-pointer of the game in response, but Jordan became the fourth Lady Bulldog to hit from deep, sending White Hall into halftime with a 22-12 lead.

Stith and Barnett combined for three straight 3-pointers in the third quarter, a quarter White Hall won 16-4. Thyen, a White Hall senior who hadn’t gotten to play much, entered the game for the final 2 minutes and hit one last 3-pointer to close out the victory.

Powell said it was nice for Thyen to get that shot.

“She’s had some illnesses and hasn’t been able to practice,” Powell said. “I got her in for the last few minutes of the game. Called timeout, drew up a play, and it actually worked out. She got a shot up and made it, so that was awesome.”

The Lady Bulldogs, led by a large group of sophomore starters, won’t make the playoffs this year but could still finish fifth with a good showing next week.