Blackhawks take 4th in tournament
The Blackhawks got off to a good start in the Battle on the Ridge Tournament, besting Thaden easily in an opening round contest. However, cold shooting and excessive turnovers kept the homeboys from winning again, falling to Neosho in the semifinals, then losing to McDonald County for the third place trophy.
In the finals Saturday, Arkadelphia took home the team championship with a 59-56 victory over Neosho with McDonald County claiming third with a 66-46 conquest of Pea Ridge. Little Rock eStem earned fifth place with a 48-29 beatdown of Clarksville with Earle getting past Greenwood 53-49 to finish seventh.
The Hawks got one more nonconference game in Tuesday as they hosted Centerton Lifeway. They will then begin conference Friday with a road game in Huntsville.
Pea Ridge 49, Thaden 16
After Thaden controlled the tip then scored the first goal of the game, the Blackhawks came roaring back to score 12 straight points and the guests were never a threat after that.
Bric Cates let fly a trey to give the Hawks their first lead at 3-2, then Joe Adams pulled off a steal then layup, with Luke Baker replicating the feat a minute later to put the Hawks up 7-2 midway in the first period.
Josh Turner fired in one from downtown to up the lead to 10-2, with Colton Thurman dropping in a layup late in the period to boost the lead to 10, leading 12-2. The Barnstormers managed to hit a short jumper before the quarter’s
end as Pea Ridge went into the secnd period leading 12-4.
Will Anderson and Austin James hit from the field to start the second quarter, with Baker canning two of two from the line for a 18-4 lead. Adams then hit a long jump shot midway in
the quarter just before the Barnstormers hit a trey to cut the lead a little at 20-6. Anderson converted two of two free throws to put the Hawks up 22-6 with 3 minutes left in the half.
Thaden managed to hit three straight free throws for a little
run, but James broke that up with a goal before the break as Pea Ridge lead 24-9 at intermission.
Thaden started the third quarter by making their fourth and fifth consecutive free throws but a 14-point run by the Hawks put the game on ice by jumping out to a 27-point lead (38-11). Adams started the onslaught by sinking a pair of free throws, then stealing the ball moments later and driving home a layup. Anderson and Austin sank free tosses with Baker sliding through for a layup and a 32-11 lead. Consecutive treys by Baker and Austin put a exclamation point on the game as Pea Ridge was but 3 points from Mercy Ruling their guests. Thaden broke the streak with a layup inside a minute to play in the third but Thurman tipped in a missed shot to send the Hawks into the final period leading 40-13.
A great entry pass to Walker led to an easy layup to start the fourth, and after Britton Gamel scored in the paint, the Hawks’ 44-13 triggered the Mercy Rule with the clock running without
stopping for the last 5 minutes of the contest. Thaden managed to score 3 points from the charity stripe in the game’s closing moments but J.J. Beck countered than with a rebound putback followed by a 3-pointer by Walker to set the final score at 49-16.
Neosho 48, Pea Ridge 28
The Hawks played a terrific game defensively, holding the Neosho Wildcats well below their season’s scoring average, but cold shooting and a mountain of turnovers kept Pea Ridge from mounting a threat throughout most of the contest.
The ’Cats jumped out ahead of the Hawks 4-0 with Pea Ridge suffering a pair of turnovers. Josh Turner finally broke the ice with a floater in the lane, but the visitors sank three consecutive layups, two of which were aided by errant Hawk passes. A Blackhawk trey before the buzzer trimmed
the lead a little as Pea Ridge trailed 10-5 at the buzzer.
The Hawks turned the ball over three straight times to start the second period, with Neosho taking advantage by scoring twice in the paint along with a free throw to lead 15-5.
While the Hawks lost the ball three more times over the next three minutes, Neosho suffered six turnovers to give the Hawks a window. Anderson fired in a trey, Baker ripped two free throws with Joe Adams picking up a loose ball then laying it off the glass for a goal, cutting the lead to just 5 at 17-12.
The turnover bug then bit the Hawks again, losing the ball three straight times with the ’Cats cashing in with two layups and a free toss for a 22-12 lead at the break.
The third quarter saw the Blackhawks turn the ball over seven times along with missing all their shots until Jared Brewer sank a 7-footer with 23 seconds left in the period. Brewer’s shot was the last score of the period as Pea Ridge trailed 37-14.
Neosho scored first in the last period but Brewer countered with a trey to cut the lead to 40-17. Both sides then suffered through a series of turnovers before James stole a pass then scored a layup. Neosho then fired in a trey but Pea Ridge did the same. The the ’Cats dropped in two layups but the Hawks matched them with two of their own to keep the deficit the same. Turner authored both layups as Pea Ridge trailed 46-26 with less than a minute left. After Neosho scored, Cates went two for two from the line to establish the final score of 48-28.
Unofficially, Pea Ridge shot 28% from the field and suffered 27 turnovers. Neosho lost the ball 12 times and shot right at 50% to dominate the game late.
McDonald County 66, Pea Ridge 46
An early turnover helped the Mustangs jump ahead 2-0 to start the game, a couple of scores by Joe Adams in the paint pushed the Hawks ahead 4-2 at the 6:45 mark in the first quarter. McDonald County scored but Jared Brewer answered right back to get the lead back at 6-5.
A short jumper and a trey by the Mustangs gave them a 10-6 lead, but a Turner steal and layup followed by a Cates layup knotted the score at 10-10. The visitors then got another short jumper and a trey to regain the lead but a layup by Baker kept them close as the first period buzzer sounded with the Hawks trailing 15-12.
A lone bucket, free throw and trey gave McDonald County some breathing room as they assumed a 2112 lead. Austin then scored underneath but the Mustangs matched it right away.
Having just one turnover in the first five and a half minutes in the second quarter gave the boys from the Ridge their chance and they made the most of it. Cates and Brewer drove in for layups with James and Thurman ripping treys and suddenly, the Hawks were only down by 1 at 25-24 with two minutes left in the half. The Hawks could not score but two free throws by Brewer in those last two minutes while the Mustangs ripped a trey, layup and a free throw to head into the last quarter leading 31-26.
The Hawks lost the ball twice to start the fourth period but Brewer drilled a trey not long after to partially match an 8-point burst by the Mustangs. Disaster struck when Brewer left the game with half the third quarter remaining with a injury. Played sparingly due to injury this season, Brewer was starting to warm up offensively until the latest setback.
McDonald County would go on to score 12 more points for the rest of the period. The Hawks could muster but a bucket each from Cates and Thurman along with an Anderson trey as McDonald County surged ahead 51-37 by quarter’s end.
The Mustangs ended all doubt by scoring the first 10 points of the last period before Thurman ended the run with a long 3-pointer which left Pea Ridge trailing 51-40. Thurman would go on to sink two more treys with Britton Gamel stroking the last one of the evening by a 66-46 margin.