’Hawks, Lady ’Hawks sweep Huntsville, Gentry
The boys and girls varsity basketball teams swept all four games last week, taking Huntsville down in a pair of tilts Dec. 11 before blasting cross-county rival Gentry last Friday.
The Lady ’Hawks more than doubled up their foes, smashing perennial basketball powerhouse Huntsville 58-24 before crushing Gentry’s Pioneers 55-26.
The boys edged the Eagles in a 46-43 thriller at home and then cruised past Gentry 51-33 in the week’s finale.
Both teams raised their overall record to an identical 11-2 with both teams earning the same overall No. 6 ranking in the 4A State MaxPreps/CBS Basketball poll.
This week is a big one for conference play for the ’Hawks and Lady ’Hawks. They were to play highlyranked Farmington Tuesday night with the Lady Cardinals holding the No. 2 state ranking and the Cardinal boys at No. 13. The boys have had an up and down season, losing by 15 to Huntsville then coming back 10 days later and drubbing the same team by 20. They will play Prairie Grove Friday, Dec. 21, for the last regular game in 2018.
The boys and girls will both be playing in the Alma Tournament during the Christmas break, Dec. 27-29.
Game capsules Girls Pea Ridge 55 Gentry 26
Though a lopsided score in the ’Hawks’ favor, the game wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Lady Blackhawks Hollyn Davis and Gabby Adams came out on fire to start the game, combining for 24 points while the defense held the Lady Pioneers to just 6 in the opening frame. Davis fired in a pair of treys and four field goals to set the tone with Adams adding a trey and a pair of shots from the floor.
The second period saw no letup as Pea Ridge got the mercy rule invoked early as they outscored Gentry 19-4 to leap out to a 43-10 advantage at the intermission. Four lady ’Hawks rang up points led by Katelyn Swopes’ two treys and a free throw. Maria Socha ripped a trey and field goal with Aiden Dayberry adding a 3-pointer along with Davis while Adams sank a field goal.
The second half clock quickly melted with Davis, Socha and Ravin Cawthon throwing in field goals with Blakelee Winn and Davis sinking solo free throws. Two free throws by Dayberry and a goal by Socha closed out the offense from Pea Ridge as they won the game by 28 points.
Davis led the scoring with 21 followed by Adams with 11, Socha with 9, Swope 6, Dayberry 5 and Winn 1.
Boys Pea Ridge 51 Gentry 33
The boys from the Ridge came out slowly in the first, but exploded in the second period to race out to a comfortable lead at the half and were never threatened.
The offense sputtered in the early going with Gentry leading 8-6 at the first buzzer. Field goals by Carson Rhine, Wes Wales and Will Feemster accounted for the scores.
The treys started falling in the second with Rhine swishing a couple with Noah Peterson hitting one of his own. Peterson also added a pair of field goals and a free throw with Wales scoring twice inside and Alex Wilkerson picking up a goal and free throw to fuel the 21-6 run that carried them to a 27-14 halftime advantage.
Peterson kept up the barrage in the third period, nailing two more 3s and a field goal to help thwart a Pioneer comeback. Nick Coble added a pair of goals as did Wales to help outscore the hosts 16-13 in the frame to grab a 43-27 edge into the fourth. A trey and free throws by Rhine and a goal by Mike Ericson closed out the game for the Blackhawks.
Peterson led the scoring with 16, followed by Rhine 14, Wilkerson 7, Wales 6, Coble 4, Feemster 2 and Ericson 2.
Girls Pea Ridge 58 Huntsville 24
In what was expected to be a reasonably competitive game, the battle instead turned into an all-out rout as the Lady ’Hawks suffocated the Eagles on defense and scored 40 points in the second and third quarters to mercy rule the contest.
Pea Ridge used a pair of buckets from Blaklee Winn and Hollyn Davis with 2 points from both Gabby Adams and Maria Socha to take an early 13-8 lead after one quarter of play. The blowout began in the second period with the Blackhawks out pointing Huntsville 16-4 to leap into a 29-12 halftime advantage. Winn threw in three goals and a free throw with Davis racking up a pair of free throws and field goals. Aiden Dayberry hit a goal with Socha adding one from the line.
The mercy rule came into play in the third quarter when the Ridge girls poured through 24 points while limiting the Eagles to just 5. Davis led the onslaught with a trey, three field goals and two free throws with Katelyn Swope converting three free throws and a trey. Adams scored 3, Winn 2 and Dayberry 2 to round out the scoring.
With the clock running throughout the fourth quarter, the ’Hawks cleared the bench with Hayley West scoring the ’Hawks’ last field goal. Samantha Bott scored once from the charity stripe while Dayberry scored two freebies.
Davis was the points leader with 21, with Winn garnering 14, Dayberry and Swope 6 each, Adams 5, Socha 3 and Bott 1.
Boys Pea Ridge 46 Huntsville 41
It was a tough uphill climb for the hardwood ’Hawks against traditional power Huntsville. They trailed at the first three breaks, tied it in the fourth, then won in overtime in a barn burner.
Coble provided all the offense for the ’Hawks in the early going as they trailed their guests 9-5 at the first buzzer. Coble hit a 3 and regular goal.
The ’Hawks warmed up in the second quarter but so did the Eagles as Pea Ridge was outscored 14-13 to fall behind 23-18 at the half. Four Blackhawks scored in the quarter with Wales scoring 4 via two inside buckets with Coble ripping four of four free throws. Rhine hit one from behind the arc with Landon Allison converting a pair of free tosses.
The ’Hawks finally turned it around in the third quarter, outscoring Huntsville 10-7. The turnabout cut the deficit to only 2 at 30-28. Wales was big inside, scoring three times. Coble and Rhine hit a goal each in the rally.
The 3-point shot loomed large in the fourth quarter with Coble and Allison each dropping in one to spark the surge. Brandon Whatley also scored a bucket and free throw with Coble and Wales adding field goals to knot the score at 41-41 at the final buzzer. Wales and Coble scored goals in overtime with Rhine hitting a crucial free throw to provide enough offense to win the game.
Coble led the scoring with 18, followed by Wales 14, Rhine 6, Allison 5 and Whatley 3.