You could see the Bryant Hornets getting better and more comfortable as they played on Saturday afternoon when they hosted a three-team jamboree as their Arkansas Activities Association benefit game.
Though they had a tough game shooting and fouling in the first half against a strong Jonesboro Hurricanes team and lost 36-21, the Hornets came back against a strong Pine Bluff Zebras team, winning 36-31 with an extra two-minute period.
In between, Jonesboro narrowly got the best of Pine Bluff.
The Hornets are working in advance of their season opener at Benton on Thursday, Nov. 19.
“We’ve just got to keep working on what we’ve been working on. I think our blocking out wasn’t what we want it to be. I thought, at times, our communication wasn’t what we want,” said Hornets coach Mike Abrahamson. “For the most part, we were doing what we’ve worked on but we can do it better. Defensively, how we match up, how we take space from the ball, blocking out, finishing plays, snatching rebounds out of the air — all things that we’ve worked on — keeping faith in our offense, especially against Jonesboro.
“Everything that we do in practice is for a purpose,” he emphasized. “It’s not just a drill. It’s the way that we play. It’s the way that we go about our business.
“We played two tough teams, two really good programs and that’s what we wanted to do,” he continued. “We wanted to see where we stood against teams like that. I wanted to put our kids in that environment.
“It was down then up but there were positive takeaways from each half and there were negative takeaways from each half,” the coach concluded. “I’m not going to get too low about the Jonesboro half and I’m not going to get too high about the Pine Bluff half. And I’m not going to let our kids do that either. We’re just going to try to get better.”
The Hornets actually led early against Jonesboro 7-4 on baskets by Kevin Hunt and Romen Martin then a three-point play off the offensive glass by Lowell Washington.
But Jonesboro took over from there using a tough full-court defense and aggressive drives to the basket that got them to the free-throw line 26 times in the 16-minutes.
A 23-2 run put the Hornets in a bind. The only interruption was a layup by Braylen Steen off a feed from Martin that had them within 13-9 late in the first quarter.
At the end of the opening period, Jonesboro led 18-9. Before Bryant could get anything to go after that, it was 27-9.
Free throws by Detavious Moore and Rickie Allen ended the dryspell for Bryant, cutting the margin to 14. But that’s as close as they could get, matching that difference when Calvin Allen converted twice at the line with 1:30 left in the half.
The Hornets were 6 of 21 from the field against Jonesboro.
Against Pine Bluff, it was nip and tuck most of the way. The game was tied at 6 on a pair of free throws by Martin then Kaleb Turner knocked down a 3 to put the Hornets ahead with 1:56 left in the first quarter. Pine Bluff tied it in the final minute but, with :22 left, Steen scored off a feed from Christian McIntosh to make it 11-9.
Pine Bluff put together a run in the second quarter that produced a 21-15 lead.
It was 24-18 with 4:20 left before Washington drove for a basket and was fouled. Though he was unable to add the free throw, Hunt rebounded and scored to cut the lead to 24-22.
Pine Bluff countered with a 3 but Hunt made a steal and drove for a dunk. The Zebras missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Hornets got two chances to tie it from 3-point range. The first one didn’t fall but, with 2:08 left, Martin found the range and knotted it up.
A basket off the block put the Zebras back on top with 1:42 left then a flurry of turnovers followed. In the final minute, Steen made a nice pass to Washington for a layup that tied it again. Pine Bluff had three shots to regain the upper hand but couldn’t get one to fall.
The coaches agreed on an extra two minutes and, after the teams traded baskets, free throws by Washington and Hunt produced a lead for the Hornets as the Zebras struggled to score. Calvin Allen added a free throw in the final seconds to set the final margin.
For the day, Washington finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Hunt and Martin each had 10 points, Calvin Allen 6, Turner 5, Steen and Deron Canada 4 each. Rickie Allen and Jordan Walker each hit two free throws along the way.
