As quickly as Fordyce pulled within one basket, Dollarway’s Jamal Burton went on a scoring tear.
That and a few last-minute free throws by Lawrence Allen were enough to keep the Cardinals safe in a 38-36 victory Tuesday at Dollarway Fieldhouse, giving them their second win over the Redbugs in four days.
It was the Cardinals’ first home game of the season, but it almost ended in defeat as the Redbugs (3-3), who have lost three straight, stormed from an 11-point first-half deficit and nearly came all the way back from eight points down in the final quarter.
“We didn’t play no ball,” Cards coach Ellis Berry said. “We didn’t play at all. I don’t know what our mind was on, but it wasn’t on basketball. We were happy to escape with the win; that’s all that matters.”
Fordyce had a chance to tie off a jump ball with 1:08 left, but Burton came up with a steal and Allen hit two free throws — one of them after a lane violation with only Fordyce players at the lane. Fordyce’s Bobby Hentz knocked down a 3-point basket with 25 seconds left to make it 36-34, but Allen sank two more free throws and the Redbugs could not score until Xavier Warner made a putback at the buzzer.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Burton led all scorers with 14 points and finished with nine rebounds. Allen added nine points and six boards.
The game was a rematch of Dollarway’s 53-47 victory in Saturday night’s Fordyce Bank and Trust championship game. The Cards (6-1) lost 44-42 in overtime to Fort Smith Southside on Monday at the Central Arkansas Christian Classic, while Fordyce lost 62-52 at Nevada.
“I have some concern, but the thing about it is, we’ve only had three to practice since they’ve been out of football together,” Fordyce coach Stan Jones said. “I feel like once we can get them in the gym for three or four days — and we won’t have any more games until next week sometime (Fordyce will host Bearden on Monday) — that’ll help them.”
The Redbugs executed Jones’ plan to slow down the pace against the Cards in the first half Tuesday, but they could never get into a rhythm and trailed 22-12 at halftime. Burton’s baseline jumper with 3:52 left in the first half gave Dollarway its biggest lead at 18-7.
A dunk by Markel Bulliner off a steal keyed a 10-2 run that brought Fordyce within 24-22 in the third. The Redbugs held Dollarway to two field goals in the quarter.
“We turned the ball over, we took some ill-advised shots, we didn’t get the ball inside like we should, we tried to cross over somebody to get the crowd happy and then turned the ball over, so those are the little things that get you beat,” Berry said.
Burton then scored Dollarway’s next eight points, all from point-blank range, as the Cards led 34-26. Bulliner, who along with Warner had 10 points apiece, kept the Redbugs in the game with their first five points of the frame. Warner also had six boards.
Dollarway will play Little Rock Catholic at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the CAC Classic.