Pea Ridge Times

Blackhawks survive Saints early scare

Pea Ridge pulls away in second half for 15th consecutiv­e win

- MIKE CAPSHAW Special to The TIMES

For a half, Shiloh Christian gave Pea Ridge everything it had.

But the Saints didn’t leave anything in the tank for the second half as the Blackhawks rolled to a 74-50 victory at Blackhawks Gym. It was the 15th straight win for Pea Ridge, which improved to 20-1 overall.

“They played extremely well that first half,” said Blackhawk coach Trent Loyd. “Anytime we made a mistake, they made us pay for it. They came out with great intensity and I was proud of the way our guys hung in there because it was good to see how our guys would react to it.”

The Saints (11-11) led by as many as nine when Seth Turpin scored 5 straight points, including a bucket off of a steal by Jaret Russ that resulted in coach Jacob Skinner shouting “Boom!” as the shot fell through to make it 22-13 with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Everything was going their way. Then, it wasn’t. A pair of 3-pointers by Matt Thomas and Joey Hall highlighte­d a 12-0 Pea Ridge run over the next three minutes of regulation. Both teams traded buckets the rest of the half — the Saints even tied it twice, the first time on a Jack Hutchinson 3-pointer — but Thomas scored a bucket off of a late steal to give Pea Ridge a 3028 lead at halftime.

“We shot it well. We were six of six on 3s in the second quarter,” Skinner said. “When we shoot it well, we look good. And it energizes our defense. We looked good for a half and caused them some fits for a half.

“But we just ran out of gas against a very good team.”

Pea Ridge scored the first 7 points of the second half on their way to a 29-11 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Hall handled the ball more to help the Blackhawks counter the Saints’ fullcourt press. He also scored half of his 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the foul line.

“I think the halftime adjustment they made by putting the ball in Hall’s hands changed the game,” Skinner said. “Couple that with our fatigue and he was able to break our defense down.”

Key third quarter moments included a 3-pointer by Hall that made it 42-32 with 4:20 to go in the third and two free throws by Thomas that pushed it to a 20-point lead (54-34) with 1:35 to go in the third. Thomas led all scorers with 23 points.

The Blackhawks scored the first 8 points of the fourth quarter and Hayden Holtgrewe’s 3-pointer increased the margin to 70-41 with 4:14 remaining in regulation.

“We weren’t trailing at half, but it felt like it,” Loyd said. “It was that close and it could have been either way. But basketball is a game of runs and we came out in the second half and fixed some of those mistakes we were making.”

Girls PEA RIDGE 47, SHILOH CHRISTIAN 23

The Lady Blackhawks (12-9) used an 18-0 run that spanned seven minutes from the second quarter to the third quarter and proved to be the difference.

Senior Avery Dayberry drained a 3-pointer to begin the spurt and scored 8 of her game-high 11 points during the run. Senior Alli Whatley scored 4 of her 9 points during the run.

A 12-footer by sophomore Caroline Johnson stopped the bleeding for Shiloh Christian (616), but the outcome already was out of reach. Sophomore Carley Johnson led the Lady Saints with 10 points.

 ?? Photograph courtesy of Russ Wilson ?? Blackhawk junior Hayden Holtgrewe (No. 22) went in for a layup Friday night in Blackhawk gym in the battle with the Shiloh Saints. Editor’s note: Wilson Creations at 479-633-1365 or its2ez4me2­hr@yahoo.com. Check out Wilson Creations on Facebook at...
Photograph courtesy of Russ Wilson Blackhawk junior Hayden Holtgrewe (No. 22) went in for a layup Friday night in Blackhawk gym in the battle with the Shiloh Saints. Editor’s note: Wilson Creations at 479-633-1365 or its2ez4me2­hr@yahoo.com. Check out Wilson Creations on Facebook at...
 ?? Photograph courtesy of Russ Wilson ?? Junior Lady Blackhawk Kiley West (No. 3) looks for someone to receive the basketball during Friday night’s contest against the Lady Saints.
Photograph courtesy of Russ Wilson Junior Lady Blackhawk Kiley West (No. 3) looks for someone to receive the basketball during Friday night’s contest against the Lady Saints.

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