Defending 6A state champion Jonesboro had to wait almost a week before it was able to play its first game in the 6A state tournament.
And when the Golden Hurricane did get on the court Monday against Little Rock Hall, the Warriors made them wait a little bit more, slowing down the pace of play and controlling the tempo of the game.
That all changed in the fourth quarter.
Jonesboro turned up the tempo and rallied from a 12-point second half deficit to defeat Hall 42-37 at the Panther Activity Center.
Jonesboro coach Wes Swift said it wasn't playing from behind that concerned him as much as it was Hall's controlling the tempo.
"It wasn't about being down," Swift said. "It was about Hall trying to hold the ball. We've just got to be mentally tough. We knew we'd make some shots. I'm very proud of our kids. That was an incredibly tough win."
Jonesboro played Russellville in the semifinals on Tuesday. Results were not available at presstime.
Hall (18-10) got its biggest lead at 28-16 after baskets in transition from Robert Verges and Antonio Edwards.
The Golden Hurricane (24-4) closed within 30-24 going into the fourth quarter and tied the game early in the fourth quarter after baskets from Trey Lane and Marcus Hunter and a pair of free throws from Jayvon Landon.
Verges picked up a technical foul later in the quarter and Jonesboro took the lead for good on a free throw from Marquise Pointer.
Jarma Perkins knocked down a pair of free throws for a 33-30 lead and Hunter scored on a stickback for a five-point lead. A basket inside by Aaron Washington gave Jonesboro a 37-32 lead, and Jonathan Adams and Perkins combined to hit 5 of 6 free throws to finish off Hall.
"Jonesboro did a great job of turning up the pressure," said Hall coach Jon Coleman. "When they turned up the pressure we started turning the ball over."
Perkins led a balanced scoring effort for Jonesboro with 10 points, while Hunter had nine.
Dayton Artis led Hall with 11 points and Drelane Walters scored nine.
Russellville 85, El Dorado 61
The Cyclones used a big third quarter to pull away for the easy victory.
Russellville (14-12) led by 10 at halftime, but outscored El Dorado 22-7 in the third quarter and cruised into today's 5 p.m. semifinals.
The duo of Kris Patrick and Andy Campbell combined for 50 for the Cyclones. Patrick led all scorers with 26, while Campbell added 24. Jacob Boles chipped in 12.
Tristan Simmons and Czar Perry led El Dorado (20-8) with 14 points each.
Sunday's games
Pine Bluff 49, LR Parkview 48
Pine Bluff had lost twice by more than 20 points to Little Rock Parkview during the regular season and came in as the No. 6 seed from the 6A-South. That didn't matter Sunday evening.
The Zebras put together a big fourth quarter and held their breath as Brealon Walker's long 3-pointer banged off the iron as time expired to give them a huge 49-48 upset victory over the powerhouse Patriots in the Class 6A state boys basketball quarterfinals in Panther Activity Center.
Junior guard Marquise Smith's driving layup gave Pine Bluff (15-13) the 49-48 lead with 48 seconds left. The Patriots milked the clock, calling two time outs -- the final one with 11.4 seconds left. Walker's shot from 23 feet with 3 seconds remaining was off the mark and the Zebras could celebrate.
Pine Bluff played in the semifinals against Alma on Tuesday. Results were not available at presstime.
Mike Session led the Zebras with 16 points, while Marcus Thomas chipped in 14.
Parkview, the No. 1 seed from the South, led the entire second half until Session's free throw gave Pine Bluff a 42-41 advantage with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Patriots, who led 39-33 entering the fourth quarter, also went without a field goal until Khalil Garland converted a three-point play with 1:48 left.
Walker's 3-pointer gave the Patriots a 48-47 lead with a minute left, but the Zebras responded with Smith's driving layup.
Parkview coach Al Flanigan made no excuses.
"We just weren't focused," Flanigan said. "We had played them twice already. That's what it was. It was entirely on us."
Execution broke down on the final play, Flanigan said.
"We had a couple guys who weren't thinking, didn't screen and it fell apart," Flanigan said.
Walker was the only Parkview player in double figures with a game-high 17. Jaylen Franklin added nine.
Alma 74, Lake Hamilton 55
Austin Lee scored 23 points and Nathan Corder added 19 as the Central No. 1 seed Airedales (22-4) rolled to quarterfinals win.
Alma led by 33-23 at halftime and extended that margin to 54-34 going into the fourth quarter after Lee banked in a shot from beyond halfcourt at the buzzer.
Larenz Nero led Lake Hamilton (18-10) with 25 points, while Samuel Scott had 19.
Saturday's games
Pine Bluff 58, Marion 50
Pine Bluff coach Clarence Finley stayed on junior guard Marcus Thomas' case most of the first quarter about being ready to shoot the ball when the opportunity came his way.
Thomas answered the call for the Zebras, scoring a game-high 28 points as Pine Bluff defeated Marion, 58-50, in the opening round of the Class 6A state tournament at Panther Activity Center.
Thomas finished with four 3-pointers and scored 17 of his points in the second half.
"He's got a small window to get his shot off, and he's got to get it up," Finley said of Thomas. "We were trying to get him the ball."
Thomas hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to get the Zebras going after a slow start. He hit another trey in the second quarter and had 11 points at halftime.
Thomas then scored 10 points in the third quarter as Pine Bluff pulled ahead 37-27 entering the fourth quarter.
Lake Hamilton 49, Mountain Home 46 (OT)
Lake Hamilton survived a pair of last-second shot attempts from Mountain Home to win its first-round game in overtime.
Lake Hamilton got a basket from Jeremiah Ballard to open overtime and Larenz Nero had a transition basket as the Wolves took the lead for good.
Mountain Home had a pair of game-tying 3-point attempts from Preston Groesbeck and Howie Wehmeyer, but both shots missed.
Nero led the Wolves (18-9) with 17 points, while Samuel Scott had 11.
Groesbeck led Mountain Home (16-12) with 15 points, while Sky-Lar Culver scored 14.
Russellville 58, Benton 46
Andy Campbell scored 18 points, Co-Chese Temple-Laws added 13 and Kris Patrick added 12 as the Cyclones defeated the Panthers.
The Cyclones trailed 18-17 at halftime but stormed the Panthers in the third quarter and took a 38-29 going into the fourth quarter.
Cason Maertens led Benton with 17 points, while Clay Anderson scored 10.
-- Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sportswriter Paul Boyd contributed to this report
Sports on 03/11/2015