Lions come out on top over Blackhawks
GRAVETTE — The last three minutes decided who would take home a conference victory as the Lions hosted the Blackhawks from Pea Ridge on Jan. 5 at Lion Arena in Gravette. The contest came down to not enough time for the Blackhawks as the Lions claimed the win by three for the first victory over Pea Ridge in the new arena.
Kicking off the scoring drive for the night was Blackhawk Greydon Edwards, who hit a threepointer from the rightwing at the 7:20 mark of the first quarter, giving Pea Ridge the early lead. On Gravette’s next possession Tristan Batie hit a layup for a field goal and the Lions were trailing by one.
Pea Ridge jumped out in front by six at the 3:37 mark, holding the Lions scoreless for one minute until Gravette’s Johnny Dunfee landed a two-point layup and was fouled by the Blackhawks. Dunfee hit the free throw and the Lions trailed by three. Pea Ridge was up by two points with 17.9 seconds left in the quarter when Gravette gained possession of the ball and drove it down to the net. With one second left, Dunfee hit a field goal to tie the contest at 12 all going into the second quarter.
The lead went back and forth between Gravette and Pea Ridge in the second quarter. Then, at the 2:10 mark, a field goal and a free throw gave the Lions the lead. The Lions’ defense went to work, holding the Blackhawks scoreless for the next two minutes. This gave the Gravette offense a chance to extend its lead to eight. With four seconds left in the first half, the Blackhawks broke their scoreless streak with a two-point field goal, cutting the Lions’ lead to six at the break.
The Blackhawks muscled their way back during the first two minutes of the third quarter, coming to within two points when their offensive game plan went cold and Pea Ridge found itself in a scoring drought until, with only 14 seconds left in the quarter, the Blackhawks finally hit a field goal. Gravette’s defensive game plan held Pea Ridge to only eight points, enabling the offense to build a 44-29 advantage going into the final eight minutes of the contest.
With six minutes left, the Lions’ Michael Duke made a layup and was fouled on the play. Duke hit the free throw, extending Gravette’s lead to 18 points. As quickly as the Lions built their lead, they went into a slump, allowing the Blackhawks to go on a run that would pull Pea Ridge to within four points with 12 seconds left to play. Brady Hunt was fouled two seconds later, sending him to the line for a one-on-one free-throw opportunity. Hunt hit the first one but missed the second shot, giving the Lions a 51-46 lead. The Blackhawks managed to hit a pair of free throws with only five seconds left to play, cutting the Lions’ lead to three.
Gravette was able to hold onto the ball until time expired, giving the Lions the conference victory, 51-48, over the Pea Ridge Blackhawks.
The Lions had three players in double figures for the night. Leading the way was Batie with 14, followed by Duke with 11 and Hunt with 10 (including three three-point field goals). Players rounding out the Gravette scoring efforts included Dakota Sizemore with nine (including two three-point field goals) and Dunfee with seven.
Jared Brewer was the only Blackhawk player in double figures with 18.
Other Pea Ridge players contributing to the scoring effort included David Anrus with eight, Kindon Cates and Greydon Edwards each with six, Trey Reed with three and Joe Adams with two.