Tri Cities Evens Jonesboro Season Series With 76-62 Win

On Friday, the Jonesboro Cardinals hosted the Tri Cities Bulldogs in a rematch from their match up from just over a week ago when the Cardinals escaped with a 79-76 win. Heading into Friday’s game, Jonesboro was coming off their first region loss of the season after their loss to Woodward Academy on Tuesday, while Tri Cities, who fell to Woodward on Saturday, was coming off a region win over Mundy’s Mill on Tuesday.

With the Cardinals down a couple of starters, Tri Cities looked to take advantage of the shorthanded Jonesboro squad and would do so almost immediately as they would open the game outscoring Jonesboro 13-3 early in the first quarter and they would close out the opening period with a 26-10 lead. The Cardinals would briefly gain some momentum to start the second quarter, as they would cut the Bulldogs’ lead down to 11 points. However, with Cardinals being down players, the Bulldogs would push their lead up to as much as 21 and would go on to pick up the 76-62 win.

Following the game, Tri Cities head coach, Omari Forts acknowledged the fact that Jonesboro was without key players in Friday’s game, therefore comparing their win over the Cardinals to their previous loss to them was not something he felt they should do. “They were missing two of their better players, there is no comparison,” Forts said of the win on Friday. Forts also spoke on his team being at full strength for the first this year in Friday’s game and add that “there’s still room to grow,” and that is his biggest concern.

“I’m concerned with us. Allowing us to get healthy and trying to prepare for the region tournament. Tonight’s win puts us in a position where we have a good chance to be the number one seed going into the region tournament, which is something that we always look forward to, but that’s not a guarantee,” Forts said as he added that with teams like Woodward, Jonesboro and Creekside all playing well, they have to remain humble in their quest to capture the region title. Tri Cities was led by Kyndon Wilburg, who finished with 23 points, four assist and three steals and Simeon Cottle, who added 21 points, six assist and six steals.