LITTLE ROCK — Ricky Clements may have hit the shot of his life Friday night. It just didn’t help Pine Bluff win.
Clements nailed a three-pointer as time expired in regulation to send Pine Bluff’s 6A-South Conference game into overtime against Little Rock McClellan. But the Lions roared back in the overtime period to claim an 81-78 victory Friday night.
The Zebras (13-7, 7-4 in 6A-South) trailed by four points, 64-60, with 2.6 seconds remaining in the fourth period. Instead of allowing Pine Bluff to score and allow time to expire, McClellan committed a foul and sent Jalen Courtney to the free-throw line. After Courtney made the first attempt, Pine Bluff coach Ronald Moragne called time-out to set up the final seconds.
“We had a little screen set up for (Clements) to come off of,” Moragne said. “Fortunatly they didn’t find him and he got open. We had it set up with (Clements) on one side and Roosevelt (Murray) on the other side. Whichever side the ball came out on we were going to kick the ball out and shoot the three.”
Courtney did his job, which was to intentionally miss the second free throw and create a rebound situation. Pine Bluff’s Tyrone Payne accomplished his goal by securing the rebound off the front of the iron. Payne made the pass to Clements, who was spotted up on the right side. Clements released the ball with 1.1 seconds showing and hit nothing but the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded, setting off an already restless crowd.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Once the players reached the benches to prepare for overtime, Moragne had some settling words for his squad.
“I told them ‘They are going to come at us harder now’,” Moragne said. “They feel like they had the game won. I was telling them we needed to jump on them because their heads were down because he hit the three.”
McClellan (16-6, 10-0) scored first in the extra frame on a layup by Jason Hendrix, who led all scorers with 29 points. But Clements continued the hot shooting and scored four of Pine Bluff’s next six points for a 71-70 Zebra lead. A Clements free throw on the next trip down the floor put the Zebras up 72-70 with 1:45 left. But it was the last time Pine Bluff would lead.
Two consecutive baskets by Russell Rosby, including a three-point play, put the Lions up for good at 77-74 at the 1:09 mark. Pine Bluff drew to within one at 79-78 with 8.8 seconds remaining on a pair of Courtney free throws but failed to stop the Lions from scoring again as Rosby made a layup as time expired.
“I can’t complain,” Moragne said. “The kids played hard. They gave it everything they had.”
GIRLS
Pine Bluff 42, McClellan 41
Jasmyn Eckermann drove the paint and made a short jumper with 9.4 seconds remaining in the girls game as the Fillies came from behind to beat the Lady Lions. McClellan had a chance to steal the win but missed three consecutive shots under the basket as time expired.
Ajia Richardson led the Fillies with 15 points while Eckermann follwed with 13.
Eckermann’s game-winner completed the comeback as McClellan led 16-9 after the first period and 32-22 after the half. Pine Bluff outscored McClellan 9-3 in the third quarter and 11-6 in the final stanza.
Pine Bluff improved to 13-11 overall and 5-6 in the conference, moving into fourth place. McClellan dropped to 10-11 and 4-7.