’Hawks defend colors, take down Pioneers twice
The Blackhawk boys and girls basketball teams celebrated Colors Day in fine fashion with the girls outpacing the Lady Pioneers 59-43 and the boys pounding their cross county rivals 73-25.
In the boys battle Friday, the ’Hawks blistered the Pioneers in the opening period, racing out to a 28-7 lead with the game never in doubt after that. Nick Coble led the charge with 10 points, via two treys, a bucket and two free throws. Carson Rhine and Wes Wales popped in 6 points each in the opening salvo, with Carson hitting for the cycle nailing a trey, field goal and free throw. Wales scored three times in the paint. Pea Ridge also got field goals from Will Feemster, Noah Peterson and Brandon Whatley.
The ’Hawks’ bench got more involved as the one-sided contest continued, though the ’Hawks edged further ahead at the half, 39-14 as they outscored Gentry 11-7 in the second period. Coble pumped in a pair of goals, with Wales doing the same along with a free throw. Whatley added the other score with a bucket.
The third period saw the mercy rule invoked as Pea Ridge outscored their guests 22-6 in the quarter to take a huge 61-20 lead into the final period. Wales was very effective, scoring four times underneath, with Peterson ripping a pair of treys while Coble scored twice inside the arc. Feemster and Anderson added the other field goals in the scoring flurry.
Landon Allison flung in a trey in the fourth period along with a field goal with the ’Hawk reserves manning the floor for most of the quarter. Anderson added a free throw while Edwards, Ericson and Hunter Rains contributed field goals before the final buzzer.
Wales led all scorers with 19 with Coble right behind with 18 markers. Peterson scored 8, Rhine 6, Allison 5, Whatley 4, Anderson 3, Feemster 2, Wilkerson 2, Edwards 2, Ericson 2 and Rains 2.
Pea Ridge 59, Gentry 43
The Lady ’Hawks also jumped out to a healthy lead to start their game, padded their lead in the second period, withstood a mild comeback in the third before cruising in for their 16-point margin of victory, 59-43.
Treys were the play of the day as the Blackhawks shot through three from behind the arc to boost their offense. Hollyn Davis, Gabby Adams and Ravin Cawthon hit from behind the arc with Katelyn Swope adding a regular goal. Davis, Blakelee Winn and Aidan Dayberry accounted for the other points from the free throw line as Pea Ridge led 18-10 after one period.
The second quarter was largely a replay of the first, with the ’Hawks doubling the margin by outscoring the Pioneers 19-11. Winn and Davis came up with 7 points each to lead the surge. Davis hit a trey and two field goals with Winn scoring twice from the field while ripping three free throws. Dayberry dropped in a 3-pointer with Alissa Short rounding out the scoring with a field goal, giving Pea Ridge a solid 36-21 lead at intermission.
The Pioneers made a mild attempt at a comeback, limiting the ’Hawks to just 9 points in the quarter while scoring 14 themselves but they still trailed by double digits, 45-35, heading into the final eight minutes. Winn carried the offense, converting four free throws along with sinking a field goal. Swope bombed in a trey for the other points.
The ’Hawks locked down the defense in the final quarter limiting the guests to just 8 points. The ’Hawks scored 13 to boost the final margin back to 16 as it was at the half. Winn kept her hot hand, hitting a trey and a pair of goals to keep the Pioneers at bay. Dayberry added two goals and a free toss with Short adding the last point via the charity stripe.
Winn led the scoring with 21 points followed by Davis 13, Dayberry 10, Swope 6, Adams 3 and Short 3.
Other games:
Girls
Harrison 58, Pea Ridge 46
The Lady ’Hawks entered a very noisy, pressure-packed environment as they invaded Harrison’s Goblin gymnasium in an important district confrontation Thursday, Jan. 22.
Both sides played excellent defense, making scores hard to come by. Winn scored from the floor twice, Davis once and Adams once with Davis adding a free throw. Harrison scored 13 to take the first quarter 13-9.
The ’Hawks refused to buckle in the hostile environment, slicing Harrison’s lead to just 2 by the half, winning the quarter 1311 to trail at the half 24-22. Winn scored a pair of goals again with Maria Socha and Alissa Short also scoring from the field. Dayberry added a pair of free throws and Adams canned three of her own to keep the ’Hawks close.
Winn scored three times in the third quarter with Davis connecting from long range but that was all the offense the ’Hawks could muster as they were outscored 13-9 in the period to fall behind 37-31 headed into the final quarter.
Both teams heated things up in the final eight minutes with both teams having their best shooting, but the hosts were just a bit hotter outscoring Pea Ridge 21-15 to take a final 58-46 victory. Davis was a force in the fourth, swishing a trey, hitting two field goals and adding a free toss to score 8 points. Socha added a trey, Winn added a goal, and Dayberry provided 2 points from the free throw line in the loss to the East Division team.
Winn led the Blackhawk scoring with 16 with Davis adding 14, Socha 5, Adams 5, Dayberry 4 and Short 2
Boys
Harrison 59, Pea Ridge 47
The ’Hawks encountered a disastrous first quarter to fall way behind in a loss in Harrison on Thursday, Jan. 22.
The Blackhawks actually outscored the Goblins 40-38 over the final three quarters but the early deficit was too much to overcome in the tough road game. Will Feemster hit a trey with Allison and Wales scoring close in shots but the points were not enough as Harrison led 21-7 at the first quarter buzzer.
The quarter break did the ’Hawks some good, as they battled on even terms throughout the second period to keep the deficit at 14 at the break, trailing 34-20. Coble rang up a goal and trey with Wilkerson and Peterson adding 3-pointers while Wales scored in the paint to blunt the Goblin attack.
The Goblins stepped up their defense to limit the ’Hawks to just 10 points in the third, adding 12 themselves to get a bit more separation, leading 46-30 after three. Wilkerson scored half the ’Hawks’ points with a trey and field goal, Feemster added four with a goal and two free throws with Allison making a free throw for the other point.
The Blackhawks got some traction in the fourth, converting seven free throws while connecting on a trio of field goals and a trey to outscore the hosts 17-13 to reduce the final margin of victory for Harrison to 59-47. Coble hit two field goals and two free throws in the period with Allison hitting behind the arc. Wales added a goal underneath and Rhine scored inside the arc with the rest of the points coming from the line, Wilkerson concerted three of them and Rhine scored the other one.
Wilkerson and Coble led the offense with 11 each with Feemster having 7, Allison 6, Rhine 3 and Peterson 3.