Knights make statement in Kameron Hale tourney
PEARCY — Facing Class 4A championship contender Pea Ridge in the first round of the Kameron Hale Invitational, Centerpoint’s senior boys made a statement Thursday night.
Despite sitting at just 4-4 on the season, the Class 3A Knights never trailed in a 65-56 win over last year’s 4A runner-up at Lake Hamilton’s Wolf Arena. Centerpoint will face Arkadelphia or Lake Hamilton in the second round at 8:30 p.m. tonight, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s championship game at 8 p.m.
“Hopefully we gained some confidence, but this is going to be short-lived, because we either get Lake Hamilton on their home floor or Arkadelphia tomorrow,” Centerpoint coach Kevin Owens said. “We’ll have our work cut out for us, but it’s a blast to see the kids go out and execute and do what they’ve been taught. It was a good night.”
Trailing 38-26 after three quarters, the Blackhawks hung around in the final frame as junior Nick Coble caught fire from behind the arc. The guard buried five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but Pea Ridge got no closer than 64-56 with less than a minute to play.
Centerpoint got the Blackhawks into foul trouble and lived at the free throw line in the fourth quarter, converting on 11 of 17 attempts to keep Pea Ridge at bay.
“Being able to go inside is huge for us,” said Owens. “It makes them be honest, and it gave us some opportunities at the line. It’s what made the difference for us, because trading twos for threes with that group is tough. They can shoot it.”
Facing one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the state, the Knights flashed outside shooting of their own to take an early lead. Owen Bright and Eric Valdez each knocked down a shot from behind the arc in the first quarter, while big man Parker Sutton bullied his way to six points in the paint as Centerpoint maintained a 16-8 advantage.
Pea Ridge’s Landon Allison, Kobe Rose and Coble each buried a 3-pointer in the second quarter. Senior Hayden Holtgrewe added four points to bring the Blackhawks within 28-21 at the half.
With Pea Ridge threatening to cut further into its lead, Centerpoint slowed the pace to take control of the game. Sutton and Bright combined for eight points, and the Knights held the Blackhawks to just five points in the third quarter to push the lead to 38-26.
“We just wanted to be more patient and not get into that up and down tempo that they like to play,” Owens said. “They pressed, and we handled the pressure better tonight than we have all year. Us protecting the ball and getting what we wanted on the offensive end kind of took them out of the flow of the game.”
As Coble gave Pea Ridge a glimmer of hope with a dynamic shooting display in the fourth quarter, Centerpoint got contributions from everyone to squash any comeback bid down the stretch. Owen Bright dropped seven points in the final period, while Michael Bright had six points and Sutton scored five. Valdez and Kanon Horn each had four points.
“Hopefully that gave them some confidence because some of them need it,” said Owens. “Michael stepped up and hit some big free throws at the end of the game and Kolten Carver gave us a big basket down there in the paint. If we can get him going, his size in there is going to help us a lot.”
Coble led all scorers with 20 points, connecting on six 3-pointers, and Rose finished with 15 points. Owen Bright paced the Knights with 19 points and Sutton finished with 18.