Blackhawks take two wins Maintain grip on on conference

The boys Blackhawk basketball team struggled mightily Friday night before easing past West Fork 52-40. The ”Hawks then came right back the next day to scorch the nets in a 64-35 smack down of Elkins.

The two home victories ran their conference record to 9-1 with eight games left on their league schedule.

Last Friday, the ’Hawks uncharacteristically were as cold as the air outside, shooting very poorly from beyond the 3-point stripe as the visiting Tigers were using the 3-ball to hang with the ’Hawks, leading briefly in the first and third quarters. The ’Hawks’ superior defense and control of the backboard led to a victory at the end.

With the Tigers expecting the ’Hawks to blast away from the arc, the ’Hawks crossed them up by getting the ball inside early to center Mike Mahoney who scored his team’s first 8 points. A couple of excellent assists from Hayden Holtgrewe along with an offensive rebound and a shot off the glass after a great pass from Will Feemster kept the ’Hawks in the game after the visitors ripped a pair of treys and were two for two from the line.

Kobe Rose broke the 8-8 tie after a ’Hawk steal led to a layup, but the Tiger’s third trey put them ahead 11-10 with 2:20 left in the first quarter. Holtgrewe and Mahoney both sank a charity shot to regain the lead for Pea Ridge at 12-11 with Nick Coble driving in