2023 King Cotton Classic: Pine Bluff slips past Duncanville (Texas) behind Missouri Tigers football signee Courtney Crutchfield's 31 points
PINE BLUFF, ARKANSAS. – Recent Missouri football signee Courtney Crutchfield has been mentioned as the top overall athlete in Arkansas multiple times and he added another layer to that argument in Pine Bluff's 84-79 win over Duncanville (Texas) in the first round of the 2023 King Cotton Classic Wednesday night at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Crutchfield finished as the game's leading scorer with 31 points, seven rebounds and 4 assists while Deriyon Graydon and Randy Emerson each added 22.
Pine Bluff led for the majority of the game, including by 15 at halftime, until Duncanville went on a 19-3 run to close out the third quarter and led 57-55. However, the Z's retook the lead on a slam by Graydon with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth and it was never relinquished despite multiple responses by the Panthers.
Kayden Edwards fouled out with just under four minutes left in the game, but led the Panthers with 20 points while Beckham Black added 14, mostly off of three-pointers on 4-of-6 shooting.
The Z's have Gonzaga College (D.C.), the No. 18 team in the latest SBLive/Sports Illustrated Top 25 national rankings, on Thursday at 7 p.m., while Duncanville will face off against St. Joseph (Calif.) at 4 p.m.
Pine Bluff 84, Duncanville 79 (FINAL)
FOURTH QUARTER
– Duncanville again cuts the lead to four by way of a three following a bucket and one from Emerson. Billy Dixon takes a timeout to talk things over. (Pine Bluff 83-79 | :30)
– Black hits a three from the left corner at the 1:44 mark to cut Pine Bluff's lead to five. Crutchfield surpassed 30 on the ensuing bucket following the time out. (Pine Bluff 80-73 | 1:44)
– Edwards fouled out at the 3:54 mark and Pine Bluff took advantage with two free throws by Emerson and then Crutchfield scored his 29th point as the Z's look to deliver the knockout blow. (Pine Bluff 74-70 | 2:37)
– A dunk by Graydon gives Pine Bluff the lead back by a point and Crutchfield's back-to-back free throws stretches it out by three. (Pine Bluff 66-63 | 5:16)
THIRD QUARTER
– Pine Bluff's Kaden Higgins fouled Black after going 0-for-2 on free throw attempts and Black connects on both shots to give the Panthers the lead heading into the final frame on a 19-3 run. (Duncanville 57-55)
– Duncanville is living and dying by the three, currently shooting 11-of-28 as time is called. (Pine Bluff 54-47 | 4:06)
– Beckham Black nails back-to-back threes for his first points of the game and Pine Bluff head coach Billy Dixon calls time out. (Pine Bluff 46-37 | 6:58)
SECOND QUARTER
– Despite missing out on two extra baskets from the charity stripe seconds before halftime, the Z's have pounced back on the Panthers. Crutchfield leads all scorers with 15 points, followed by Randy Emerson with 14 and Kayden Edwards has 12 as the half ends. Pine Bluff is shooting a solid 52.8% from the field, while Duncanville is struggling at 28%. (Pine Bluff 46-31)
– The Z's got out to a game-high 13-point advantage, but the Panthers responded with a 5-0 run. After the Panthers cut it to five points, Crutchfield threw down a massive slam dunk and Randy Emerson connected on a three shortly after to stretch the lead back out to nine. (Pine Bluff 40-31 | 3:05)
FIRST QUARTER
– Pine Bluff is clamping down on Duncanville and got a bit of separation after both teams traded baskets as the first comes to a close. The Z's are shooting 50% from the field. (Pine Bluff 24-18)
– Christopher Hunt Jr. drained a three immediately following tipoff and some back-and forth scoring ensued with aggressive rebounding by Pine Bluff, including three consecutive offensive boards on one possession. Randy Emerson knocked down one-of-two free throws to give the Z's the lead. (Pine Bluff 9-8 | 3:48)
– Kyle Sutherland | @k_sutherlandAR
