The Pine Bluff Zebras defeated the Hot Springs Trojans 68-40 Thursday night at McFadden Gym after starting the game on a 6-0 run.
Led by Jalen Tatum’s six points and Troy’reon Ramos’ five, the Zebras (7-3, 5-0 in 5A-South) took a 19-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
“I told the guys that we needed to come out and jump on them,” Zebras Coach Billy Dixon said. “We’ve been starting slow in the last few ball games. I wanted to see us correct that, and the guys responded.”
The Trojans (8-10, 2-4) opened the second quarter with a 4-0 run. Jayden Walker and Bino Stephens scored four and five points, respectively, to close the deficit to 35-21.
The Zebras outscored Hot Springs 27-9 in the third quarter behind Tatum’s 17 points and Armand Buckhanan’s 11.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
A 12-0 run midway through the third period helped put the game out of reach.
“We believe that the third quarter always has to be our quarter,” said Dixon. “You get the chance to make adjustments at halftime and if those adjustments are handled properly, it should show.”
Dixon said that Tatum is athletic enough to put up those kind of numbers in any quarter of a game.
“Jalen is capable of doing that in every quarter in reality,” Dixon said. “He is one of those kids that his conditioning is unbelievable. He can run all day, and is just doing what he is supposed to do the way we are supposed to do it.”
The fourth quarter saw the Zebras score six additional points compared to 10 from the Trojans.
Tatum led the Zebras with 23 points, followed by Buckhanan with 22.
The Zebras will host White Hall on Saturday afternoon following the 2 p.m. Fillies game against the Lady Bulldogs.