Zebras douse hopes of hoop crown for LH

OPINION

Lake Hamilton's Ty Robinson (33) makes a move toward the rim against Pine Bluff Thursday in the Class 5A state championship game at Bank OZK Arena. - Photo by Donald Cross of The Sentinel-Record
Lake Hamilton's Ty Robinson (33) makes a move toward the rim against Pine Bluff Thursday in the Class 5A state championship game at Bank OZK Arena. - Photo by Donald Cross of The Sentinel-Record

Lake Hamilton's worst fears materialized in the Class 5A boys championship game Thursday night. The real Pine Bluff Zebras got off the bus at Bank OZK Arena.

The night before, one saw school buses from Pine Bluff and Farmington parked outside a local hotel and guessed which, if any, team would win on the morrow. Turns out that was a daily double worth playing with respective teams in southeast and northwest Arkansas collecting Arkansas Activities Association trophies.

Farmington's 65-61 triumph over defending 4A girls champion Nashville opened the three-day set, which ended Saturday night. A bedroom community outside Fayetteville known well by Razorback fans on their travels to NWA, Farmington returned the 4A girls' title to a basketball hotbed after one year in a town better known for football.

Little Rock Christian (4A boys over Blytheville) and Greenwood (5A girls over Vilonia) then won titles Thursday before the game of interest to most Garland County fans.

Lake Hamilton and Pine Bluff tipped off while Arkansas predictably struggled to put away Auburn in the Southeastern Conference tournament. Eric Musselman's Razorbacks, avenging a regular-season road loss, beat Bruce Pearl's bunch 76-73. Texas A&M, by no means the league's most talented but possibly its scrappiest team, awaited the Hogs Friday in Nashville, Tenn.

The 5A boys' game offered no such gnashing of teeth. Pine Bluff, dominating throughout, rolled to its 14th state title with the season's third victory over Lake Hamilton. The 67-51 victory left no room for might-have-beens.

Lake Hamilton people were quick to say before that it's hard to beat a good team three times. That is true. Sometimes, it's hard to beat a good team once.

And beating the Wolves home, away and on a neutral court, Pine Bluff revealed itself as a championship team.

White House gossiper Martha Mitchell would have been proud of her hometown team. These were the Zebras of one's youth, for whom U.S. Reed played and where Basil Shabazz attended classes and starred in other sports. Where ex-MLB player Torii Hunter is a local icon, and for whom Ken Biley, as a senior, started for Arkansas against Duke in the 1994 NCAA men's basketball final.

The Zebras played Thursday like a team mindful that it had much to protect. That is one identifying mark of a champion. Anyone thinking Lake Hamilton would draw the same Pine Bluff team that lost at home in late season to Lakeside was rudely reminded that March basketball is different.

Lake Hamilton went 27-5 with what might be Scotty Pennington's best team, a semifinalist for the third time in five years. In the state tournament alone, the Wolves defeated Little Rock Parkview for the third time in two years and repulsed the challenge from east Arkansas nemesis Marion. Curiously, a good many seem to have forgotten Lake Hamilton's December tournament victory over Magnolia in the Kameron Hale Invitational on its home court.

On their best night, and there were many, with Zac Pennington a threat shooting or merely handling the ball and Ty Robinson capable of putting up big numbers, thus earning a scholarship from Central Arkansas as had Pennington from Southern Arkansas, the Wolves were championship quality. At legacy time, the Wolves were unfortunate not to play against a lesser team or better than it did.

One wonders again how great is the challenge of any 5A-South basketball or football team to win state championships. South Arkansas is struggling in many ways and that can't help but trickle down to athletics. Hot Springs beat Lake Hamilton in their second meeting but lost a close game to Harrison in the state tournament, falling a notch below championship rank after coming on strongly for Antoni Lasker, a bright young coach.

Pennington has long since proved himself a sideline master, emulating his father, a retired state championship-winning coach at Emerson. But it is harder than ever for Lake Hamilton to win state titles -- something the football team discovered in late-season shutout losses at Greenwood and Benton. And the record shows none for the Wolves in basketball since 2009 (Lady Wolves) and 1963 (boys).

A coach at another Garland County school said "it's all over for Lake Hamilton" once the school stepped up in class about 20 years ago. Not so fast, my friend. Football was not affected with the 2008 Wolves winning Class 6A and the 2011 and 2020 teams reaching the state finals. Basketball keeps coming close but seems to be spotted against a stronger team at tournament time.

Pine Bluff was such a basketball team this year. These were the Z's of another day, with no one sleeping on the job.

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