Southerners’ run sacks Blackhawks

SOUTHSIDE BATESVILLE 62, PEA RIDGE 45

BROOKLAND — Southside Batesville was on the run Thursday.

The Southerners closed the first half on a 16-0 spurt and pulled away for a 62-45 victory over Pea Ridge in the Class 4A boys quarterfinals at Bearcat Arena.

With Pea Ridge leading 24-17 with 4 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half, Blackhawks junior forward Mikey Mahoney picked up his second foul.

Southside took advantage of Mahoney’s absence.

Junior center Tom Miholjcic tied the game at 24-24 with 3:12 left in the second quarter. Grant Patterson, a junior guard, gave the Southerners a 26-24 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the first half.

Miholjcic’s three-point play extended the lead to 3124. Patterson capped the run with a basket to make it 33-24, which was the halftime score.

“It was a big run,” Southside coach Brad McGhee said. “We knew that when he comes out of the game, they don’t have nearly as much size as we do. That’s our chance to get it to our big guys. We played really good in that stretch in the second quarter, not just on the offensive end, but on the defensive end, making them miss shots.”

Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd believed the Southerners’ run was the difference Thursday.

“Mikey is one of our best players. He got into a little foul trouble,” Loyd said. “That was a big part of the game. They got a little more physical with us and some shots didn’t fall. They just went on a run that we couldn’t stop in the second quarter.”

The Southerners continued to exert their dominance in the second half.

Patterson’s 3-pointer and Milholjcic’s layup stretched their team’s lead to 44-29, forcing Loyd to call a timeout with 2:16 left in the third quarter.

Miholjcic found Patterson for a 49-33 lead before the end of the third quarter, in which the Southerners shot 7 of 10 from the floor.

Southside’s largest lead was 62-40 late in the fourth quarter.

Patterson led the Southerners with 19 points. Miholjcic scored 15 points and junior forward Alex Brogdon chipped in with 11 points.

Mahoney and junior guard Nick Coble each had 14 points for the Blackhawks (28-7). Senior guard Kobe Rose added 11 points.

ASHDOWN 58, BERRYVILLE 51

Lamar Wilkerson scored 18 points to lead Ashdown (21-7) past Berryville (24-10).

The Panthers will play Baptist Prep in a quarterfinal game at 8:30 tonight.

Kaiden Hunter finished with 15 points and John Smith added 12 points for Ashdown.

The Bobcats, the No. 2 seed from the North regional, were led by Zack Webb’s 25 points. Ty Allen chipped in with 14 points.

In the fourth quarter, Ashdown was 10 of 15 from the free-throw line.