With the game on the line and Sparta’s Dartanus White on the bench with five fouls, Anna-Jonesboro did just enough in the final minutes of play to steal a 51-50 victory over the Bulldogs Friday night in SIRR Mississippi Division action.

“It was a tough loss,” said Sparta coach Rich Williams. “Anna-Jonesboro hit a late free throw to beat us. Dartanus fouling out with five minutes left was hard for us, but the other kids stepped up and we had good balance scoring.”

Sparta led 13-12 in the first quarter and 28-24 at halftime. Anna-Jonesboro outscored Sparta 17-15 in the third and 10-7 in the fourth for the conference win.

Sparta fell to 14-9 overall and 2-5 in conference play with the defeat.

White and Maurice Austin each had 12 points in the loss.