Blackhawk cagers sweep Golden Arrow Tournament
Heath Neal’s Lady ’Hawks and Trent Loyd’s Blackhawks swept through the field of the 2018 Golden Arrow Basketball Tournament to claim a pair of championships in Lavaca last week.
Both teams attended the same tournament last week in Lavaca with each squad coming back with the first place hardware in tow. The boys crushed Magazine 50-16, blew past defending champion County Line 4841, then whipped the host team Lavaca 57-52 in the finals. The girls thumped Magazine 76-49 to start the tourney, got past Lamar 6357 in semifinal action, then beat Providence Academy 47-43 in the finals.
The girls raised their seasons record to 8-2 with the boys improving their seasonal mark to 7-1. Both victory totals are currently the best in the 4A classification.
Game capsules:
First round Pea Ridge Girls 76, Magazine 49
The first quarter was an offensive explosion for both sides with the ’Hawks racing out to a narrow 24-21 lead after one period. While the Rattlers managed to rip three treys, the ’Hawks did them one better, canning four in the opening frame.
Katelyn Swope ripped three shots from downtown for nine points to spark the offense, with Hollyn Davis close behind nailing three field goals and a pair free throws for eight points. Maria Socha tossed in a trey, field goal and free throw with Blaklelee Winn rounding it out by scoring two from two from the charity stripe.
Pea Ridge put the pedal to the metal on offense in the second quarter, scoring 27 points while holding the Rattlers to just four field goals and four free throws to jump out to a 51-34 lead at the break. Davis was virtually unstoppable in the period, knocking down two treys and five field goals to rack up 16 points. Adams added two field goals, Winn hit three free throws and a goal, Socha was two for two from the line with Josey Goldberg breaking into the scoring column with a free throw.
The game was decided in the third quarter as the ’Hawks went on to outscore Magazine 19-9 to head into the fourth quarter ahead 70-43. Swope hit the cycle, scoring a trey, field goal and free throw for 6 points with Winn also scoring 6 with three field goals. Socha added 5, with Davis and Dayberry scoring 2 each.
The reserves mopped up in the fourth quarter with Ravin Cawthon, Goldberg and Samantha Bott scoring goals as the ’Hawks won by a final of 76-49.
Davis led the way with 26, Winn 13, Socha 13, Swope 12, Adams 7, Goldberg 3, with Dayberry, Bott and Cawthon all having 2.
Semifinal Pea Ridge Girls 63, Lamar 57
The Lady ’Hawks fell behind by a single point after one period but raced past Lamar in the second quarter of the semifinals to get a healthy lead at the half, then held off their rallies for the remainder of the game.
Winn carried the offense in the opening frame, hitting a pair of goals and a field goal for 5 points. Aidan Dayberry hit a trey and Adams added a 2-pointer to account for the offense.
Winn proved she was just getting started by adding 9 more points to spark the rally past Lamar. Socha added 4, Dayberry 3, and Davis 2 points as Pea Ridge assumed a 10-point lead at the break, 27-17.
The Blackhawk hot offense continued to ring up the points as they scored 19 in the third period to blunt Lamar’s attempt to get back into the game. Davis led a balanced attack, hitting two 3s, with Adams and Winn hitting solo field goals and two free throws each for 4 points, Swope added a trey, with Dayberry having the other 2 points via the free throw line. The ’Hawks led 46-33 headed into the final period.
Lamar finally hit their stride in the last quarter, exploding for 26 points to almost double their point total, but the ’Hawks kept clicking, scoring 17 to keep the opposition at bay. Lamar had to foul in the fading minutes but the ’Hawks responded by sinking 11 of them.
Winn hit a pair of goals and a pair of freebies with Swope tossing in five of six free throws to lead the charge. Adams scored 4 and Socha added 2 as Pea Ridge finished up the victory.
Winn led all scorers with 23, with Adams having 10, Davis, Swope, and Dayberry finishing with 8 each and Socha scoring 6.
Finals Pea Ridge Girls 47, Providence 43
The final was a barn burner as Rogers Providence Academy was as tenacious as the Lady ’Hawks, refusing to fold as the game was not settled into the final moments.
Providence took the early lead, ahead 10-9 at the first buzzer. Swope and Dayberry kept the ’Hawks close with successful shots from behind the arc, with Swope adding a regular goal and Winn a free throw.
The ’Hawks forged ahead in the second period, outscoring their foes 16-11 to take a 4-point lead into the break, 25-21. Adams led the surge with a trey and two field goals for 7 points, with Winn, Dayberry and Cawthon all scoring 3.
The third quarter was a repeat of the first, with Providence melting the lead in large part to the ’Hawks going one for five at the line. An Adams’ trey, Davis and Socha field goals, and a free throw by Winn kept the quarter deficit close as they were outscored 10-8 but still led 33-31 at the buzzer.
Providence had their best offense of the night in the final time frame, scoring 12, but the ’Hawks outproduced them 14-12 to take the championship. Pea Ridge scored four field goals in the period, and went to the line 10 times, hitting six to thwart the opposition rally. Winn scored 8 in the last quarter with Adams scoring 4 free throws and Swope the other 4 with two field goals.
Davis and Winn led the scoring with 13 each, with Swope and Dayberry next up with 6 each. Adams had 3, Cawthon 3, and Socha 2 for balance of the offense.
Boys results First round Pea Ridge boys 50, Magazine 16
The Blackhawk broke from the gate to dominate the Magazine Rattlers 5016 in first round action.
Nick Coble lit up the scoreboard with three treys in the first period along with a field goal. Peterson added a 3-pointer and field goal with Will Feemster adding a free throw help drive the ’Hawks’ 17-8 lead after one period.
Pea Ridge kept up the pressure in the second quarter, outscoring the Rattlers 13-5 to leap out to a 30-13 halftime lead. Landon Allison, Coble, Feemster and Todd Whatley threw in field goals with Peterson ripping a trey and field goal to drive the offense.
The third quarter left no doubt to the outcome as the scrambling defense shut out the Rattlers completely in the period. Wes Wales scored three times underneath with Coble scoring a bucket and two free throws with Peterson adding another trey. The flurry put the game out of reach as the game went into mercy rule mode with Pea Ridge leading 43-13.
The abbreviated final quarter saw the ’Hawks score 7 with Magazine scoring just 3. Edwards hit a 3 with Mazon Harris and Hunter Rains scoring field goals.
Coble led the scoring with 17 points with Peterson scoring 13, Wales 6, Edwards 3, Feemster 3, Allison 2, Whatley 2, Harris 2 and Rains 2.
Semifinals Pea Ridge boys 54, County Line 41
The Blackhawks broke open a tight game in the second quarter to defeat the defending tournament champion County Line.
The ’Hawks produced a balanced offense in the first quarter with all five starters recording a score in a 17-14 run to the first buzzer. Peterson was the leader with a trey, field goal and free throw for 6 points. Feemster and Coble rattled in treys with Carson Rhine scoring 3 via the charity stripe. Wales scored the other field goal.
The second period proved to be decisive as the ’Hawks pushed past County Line 10-6 in the period to assume a solid 27-20 halftime lead. Peterson scored twice for 4 points with Coble, Wales and Feemster adding lone shots to build a 7-point lead.
County Line came out hard in the third quarter but could only knock a couple of points off the deficit, winning the quarter 10-8. Coble carried the offense with a trey and field goal for 5 points while Peterson hit a goal and Allison sank a free throw as the ’Hawks headed into the final period with a 35-30 edge.
The ’Hawks were not to be denied by the team that defeated them in the tourney championship game in 2017, outscoring County Line 13-11 in the final eight minutes to take the victory.
Peterson nailed four of five free throws to frustrate their opponents’ comeback in the final minutes, and he also scored a goal. Coble nailed a trey, with Feemster and Wales scoring goals to finish off the game.
Peterson led the scoring with 18, with Coble hitting 13, Feemster 7, Wales 6 and Rhine 3
Finals Pea Ridge boys 57, Lavaca 52
The Blackhawks fought tooth and nail with the home boys on their own floor, overcoming a rash of called fouls to take home the championship over Lavaca 57-52.
The ’Hawks broke out on top after the first quarter, but only by a single point, leading 16-15. Allison pumped in a pair of treys with Coble and Rhine striking deep to spark the initial lead. Feemster and Coble also dropped in 2-pointers in the time frame.
The second quarter was more of the same with the ’Hawks answering the Golden Arrows scores, adding an extra point to outpoint the hosts 15-14 and gaining a 31-29 halftime advantage. Rhine, Peterson and Whatley all sank a trey and a field goal to provide the offense.
Lavaca made a pitched effort to erase the deficit but the ’Hawks matched their efforts point for point with each time scoring 14.
Coble was accurate behind the arc, driving three shots home for 9 points. Peterson hit the ’Hawks’ fourth trey in the period with Wales adding a bucket inside and Pea Ridge clung to their 2-point lead, 45-43 headed into the final period.
The ’Hawks did not back down, and defensive pressure held the Golden Arrows to single digit scoring to pave the way to victory. Coble scored a trey and bucket, Peterson sank a field goal and free throw, and Rhine dropped in four free throws on four attempts as the ’Hawks outscored the Arrows 12-9 to gather in a final 57-52 victory.
Coble led scoring with 19, followed by Rhine with 12, Peterson 11, Allison 6, Whaley 5, Wales 2 and Feemster 2.