EL DORADO — Pine Bluff held off a fourth-quarter comeback to beat El Dorado 77-72 in boys basketball Friday.
Pine Bluff (15-7, 9-4 in 6A-South) had a 15-point lead in the third quarter. After the first quarter, the Zebras had a 16-14 lead before outscoring El Dorado (16-11, 7-6) 31-20 in the second quarter for a 47-34 lead at the half.
Rickey Clements led Pine Bluff with 23 points, Marcus Barnes added 11 and Tyrone Payne and Quentin Williams each scored 10 points.
Fordyce 77, Smackover 73
FORDYCE — Rashaud Davis’ big game helped Fordyce (15-11) win the 8-3A Conference tournament championship. Davis finished with 38 points.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Top-seeded Smackover (13-6) had a 27-25 lead at halftime, but Fordyce outscored Smackover 23-12 in the third quarter to take a 48-37 lead.
Thaxton Tolbert added 14 points for Fordyce.
Monticello 55, North Pulaski 49
JACKSONVILLE — Devin Jackson’s 13 points and Torry Butler’s 10 helped Monticello stay in the hunt for a 5A state playoff berth.
If Helena-West Helena Central defeated Crossett on Friday, Monticello’s regular-season finale Tuesday at Helena-West Helena will be a winner-take-all battle for the fourth and final seed from the 5A-Southeast. Monticello won the first meeting this season.
Dumas 54, LV Lakeside 36
LAKE VILLAGE — The Bobcats (14-7, 10-4 in 8-4A) sealed third place in the conference with a blowout victory over the Beavers (4-21, 3-11).
Charleston Dobbs tallied 13 points, Dontarius Stovall 11 and Johnny Gibson 10 for Dumas. The Bobcats will play the loser of tonight’s 7-4A championship between Pulaski Academy vs. Maumelle at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in the 4A-South Regional tournament in Dumas.
GIRLS
Pine Bluff 49, El Dorado 47
EL DORADO — Pine Bluff’s Brittany Wright hit the game-winning shot with 38 seconds left as the Fillies beat the Lady Wildcats.
El Dorado had a chance to tie or win the game, but was called for traveling with 6 seconds left.
El Dorado (10-11, 8-5 in 6A-South) had a 23-21 lead at halftime, but Pine Bluff (15-11, 7-6) took a 38-35 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Ajia Richardson led Pine Bluff with 16 points and Wright scored seven points.
Monticello 68 at North Pulaski 16
JACKSONVILLE — The Lady Billies clinched the outright 5A-Southeast Conference championship with a dominant performance against the Lady Falcons.
For Monticello (24-2, 13-0), Deanne Martin netted 14 points, Marquia Goffin had 11 and Chelsey Rhodes added 10. Monticello will go for an unbeaten conference slate Tuesday at Helena-West Helena Central.
Star City 61, McGehee 18
STAR CITY — The Lady Bulldogs won their 61st straight 8-4A Conference game and finished this season undefeated in the league (26-1, 14-0 in 8-4A) with a blowout victory over the Lady Owls (12-9, 7-7).
Juquecia Chaney scored 16 points to lead Star City. She was followed by Tyeshia Harris with 14 and Octavian Reedy with 12.
McGehee, which was shut out 9-0 in the second quarter, was a game ahead of DeWitt for the fourth and final regional playoff spot from the 8-4A going into Friday.
Drew Central 32, Fordyce 27
FORDYCE — The Lady Pirates (23-5) avenged their only 8-3A Conference loss to the Lady Bugs (20-7) and won the conference tournament championship on Fordyce’s floor.
Drew Central charged back to take a 13-12 halftime lead after trailing 8-3 through the first 8 minutes.
Adruna Simpson led Drew Central with 11 points. Sade Jenkins had 10 for Fordyce.
Dumas 62, LV Lakeside 17
LAKE VILLAGE — Dumas had three players score in double figures in a rout of Lake Village Lakeside.
Shabr’an Richardson led Dumas (16-8, 11-2 in 8-4A) with 19 points, Whitney Henderson followed with 14 and A’Diamond Johnson chipped in 11 points.