A White Hall junior played hero Tuesday night when the Bulldogs needed him against a Jefferson County rival.
Korey Hope scored the game-winning shot with 3.5 seconds remaining to give host White Hall a 54-52 boys basketball win against Pine Bluff at Bert Honey Gymnasium.
Hope said he channeled the late Kobe Bryant’s “Mamba mentality” in the fourth quarter.
“I read up all his books,” Hope said. “I study all his games. I just like his mentality, and that’s the mentality that I carry myself with.”
White Hall (5-16, 3-8 in 5A-South) led 52-51 when Pine Bluff junior Quentin Adams drew a foul with 15.5 seconds remaining. It wasn’t a shooting foul, but it was the fifth team foul on the Bulldogs, putting the Zebras in the bonus and sending Adams to the line.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
He missed the first shot but made the second to tie the game. White Hall junior Tristen Dunlap brought the ball up the court and passed it to Hope, who was waiting in the corner. Hope drove the baseline, spun around a defender, and shot a short-range jumper to give the Bulldogs the lead.
Both teams took timeouts to set up their final plays. Pine Bluff (7-14, 6-6) had a chance to go for the win, but a downcourt pass went out of bounds with 1.1 remaining. The Bulldogs successfully inbounded the ball and held it as time expired to secure the win.
Hope led all scorers with 22 points, including seven of White Hall’s nine fourth-quarter points. Tristen Dunlap, a junior, added 12.
White Hall Coach Trey Lenox said he has challenged Hope to be a leader on this team.
“We just try to constantly stay in his ear and show him how dominant he is and just the type of player that he can be,” Lenox said. “I think he’s one of the most dominant players in the state as far as, I don’t think anybody can keep him out of the paint. That’s just something we preach to him every day, and I feel like he showed it tonight.”
Hope’s heroics were needed after the Zebras rallied in the fourth after trailing most of the game. White Hall led 32-22 at halftime, but Pine Bluff cut the deficit to two points three times in the third quarter. White Hall sophomore Jaxson Turner hit a three-pointer in the final moments of the third to send the Bulldogs into the fourth with a 45-40 lead.
Adams and sophomore Braylon Turner combined for an 11-0 Pine Bluff run to start the fourth. Adams scored the go-ahead shot with roughly 5:25 remaining, giving the Zebras their first lead since it was 6-5 in the first quarter.
Pine Bluff Coach Billy Dixon said the comeback came after changing from a man defense to zone.
“We were not doing a good job in stopping their key scorer,” Dixon said. “He was able to get downhill. I realized that in the first quarter. Just kinda trying to give my guys a little bit more confidence, because we love playing man, and sometimes I’m too stubborn to go ahead and change. Should have changed it at the end of the first quarter.”
Hope scored White Hall’s first points of the fourth quarter from the free throw line with 2:46 remaining, then scored the Bulldogs’ first field goal while drawing a foul with 1:29 on the clock. Jaxson Turner scored with 1:03 remaining to put White Hall back in front, 52-51, ahead of Adams’ game-tying free throw.
This win for White Hall comes after beating the Zebras 94-85 in double overtime at the Jack Robey campus on Jan. 9 and beating Watson Chapel 66-41 at home on Dec. 22. The Bulldogs will finish the year 3-0 against fellow Jefferson County teams.
GIRLS: White Hall 50, Pine Bluff 20
The White Hall girls stifled Pine Bluff’s offense to snap a three-game losing skid on Tuesday.
White Hall (11-9, 6-5) forced three 10-second violations with its full-court press as Pine Bluff struggled to get the ball across the half-court line. The Lady Bulldogs’ defense held the Fillies to seven points or fewer in each quarter, including a two-point third.
Both teams struggled to score early. White Hall senior Blair Weston scored the game’s first two points with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs went on to lead 6-0 before Pine Bluff junior Kailah Parks hit a three-pointer with roughly 3 minutes left in the first.
Parks hit another early in the second quarter to trim White Hall’s lead to 11-8, but the Lady Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run despite missing four free throws. Pine Bluff senior Adrianna McAfee scored a layup as time expired on the first half, but the Fillies still trailed 23-12 at halftime.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the second half on a 14-0 run, ultimately outscoring the Fillies 18-2 in the third quarter before pulling their starters for the fourth.
White Hall senior Jelayla Stith scored a game-high 13 points, with senior Kynnedi Barnett adding 10. Parks and sophomore Nevaeh Trotter scored six points apiece to lead Pine Bluff (1-21, 0-12).
