Blackhawk squads split games at Lavaca
The Blackhawks and Lady Blackhawks won half their six game set in the Golden Arrows Invitational last week in Lavaca.
The girls made it to the finals of the eight-team tourney before losing to Lamar in a hard-fought battle 51-39. The girls started off the competition with a 53-34 conquest of the Mansfield Tigers then survived a cold second half to turn back West Fork 40-35 in the semi-finals.
Girls Pea Ridge 57, Mansfield 34
The Hawks got on top early and stayed ahead all the way to the finish to win in the opening round. Mia Dayberry, Leah Telgemeir and Lauren Wright all connected from the field with Bella Cates flinging in one from downtown to go with another field goal as the Hawks took an 11-7 lead after one period.
Coach Heath Neal’s charges took control in the second period, outscoring the Tigers 17-6 to take a solid 15-point lead into the break. Telgemeir dropped in a 3-ball with Cates ripping two treys to lead the charge. Bates and Telgemeir also scored from inside the arc while Lauren Wright canned a pair of shots from the floor as the Hawks went into the half leading 28-13.
Both teams fought on even terms in the third quarter with both squads ringing up 15 points each. Sydney Spears scored 3, Telgemeir 1, Paige Brown 2, Wright 3 from the arc, Reagan Bleything 2 and Jayden Spivey 2 as the Hawks held an intimidating 43-28 lead headed into the last period. The Hawks then outscored their foes 14-6 to ice the game.
Pea Ridge 35, West Fork 25
After earning a 1-point lead after one quarter, a big second period put the Hawks up by 9 at the half. The girls from the Ridge then had to hang on to keep the Tigers at bay as a cold second half almost doomed the Hawks.
Telgemeier and Spivey canned long 3-balls to spark the opening attack. Spears dropped in a free throw with Cates hitting two from the charity stripe as the Hawks emerged ahead 9-8 after one period.
The Hawks had a big second quarter, ringing up 20 points with Telgemeier bombing two from the arc with Bates and Brown adding treys of their own. Wright scored twice from the floor with Spears adding a bucket as did Bates while Spivey rounded out the scoring with a free toss. The scoring flurry left the Hawks in charge at intermission, leading 29-20.
The Hawks’ hot second period didn’t continue into the third quarter as Pea Ridge could only manage a lone field goal by Spears. The Hawk defense played well, limiting the Tigers to just 5 points, but their lead shrank to just 6 at 31-25.
The Hawks got but one field goal (Wright) in the final period but free throws by Dayberry, Bates, Spears and Telgemeir helped keep the Tigers at bay as Pea Ridge eventually won the semi-final contest 39-35.
Lamar 51, Pea Ridge 39
Pea Ridge got out ahead of Lamar’s Warriors in the first but the Hawks could not keep up with their foes’ scoring as Pea Ridge settled for the runner-up trophy.
The Hawks held the Warriors to 10 points in the first quarter, using a big offensive explosion from Spears to claim the early lead. Spears nailed a trey and tossed in three additional goals to carry the load. Cates’ lone field goal helped the Hawks take the lead by the buzzer.
Spears, Spivey and Cates scored field goals with Telgemeier tossing in one from deep, but the Warriors racked up 15 to assume a 25-20 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Hawks got treys from Telgemeier, Spivey and Cates (2) for some offensive spark, while Wright scored two goals and a pair of free throws but it was not enough to overcome timely
shooting by Lamar to take the tournament championship.
Boys Pea Ridge 38, Mansfield 29
Trent Loyd’s cagers
played a tough defense to keep the Tigers in single digit scoring in every quarter as they made a 9-point lead stand up throughout the second half as they won the opening round.
Bric Cates sparked the first period, dropping in a pair of field goals and a free toss to help the Hawks jump ahead 9-7 after one period. Josh Turner also hit a goal to aid in the offense.
Cates went off in the second quarter, scoring two goals and three free throws to lead the charge. Evan Anderson shot in through two from the floor with Turner scoring a goal and free throw as the Hawks led at the break 24-15.
After the break, Colton Thurman threw down a trey as did Austin James as the Hawks put the Tigers further behind. Cates’ lone goal and a pair of free throws by Turner helped outscore the Tigers 10-5 in the period to go up 34-20 headed into the last quarter.
The Hawks were quiet offensively in the last period, getting but a single trey by Thurman and a single free throw by Cates. However, the defense was still on, limiting Mansfield to just 9 points as the Hawks eventually prevailed by 9 at 38-29.
Lavaca 50, Pea Ridge 27
Cold shooting doomed Pea Ridge from the outset as they could only can seven field goals and eight free throws in the tournament semi-finals.
Jared Brewer ripped a trey in the first with Cates scoring from the field provided all the Hawk offense as they fell behind the Golden Arrows 15-5.
Josh Walker and Evan Anderson hit goals from the field with Cates sinking five free throws to go with Anderson’s one shot to double their first quarter scoring. Lavaca came up with 14 in the period to extend their lead to 29-15 at the break,
Thurman hit a trey while Cates scored a goal, and while they held the Arrows to just for the period, they were further behind trailing 36-20 headed into the final period. Cates scored a pair of free throws and a lone goal with Brewer ripping another trey but it wasn’t enough as Lavaca scored 14 more to put the final score at 50-27.
County Line 43, Pea Ridge 38
The Blackhawks were cold in the first quarter, scoring but 6 points, but they fought County Line’s Indians on even terms, not quite getting over the hump as they lost in the third place game by 5 points.
The Indians scored but 10 points in the first but the entire Hawk offense were treys by Jared Brewer and Will Anderson as Pea Ridge trailed 10-6 after one.
A trio of 3-balls were hit by Brewer, Thurman and Will Anderson as Pea Ridge sliced the Indian lead in half before the break. With Cates and Evan Anderson scoring from the floor, the Hawks were on County Line’s tail, trailing by just 2 at 21-19.
Treys from Brewer and Will Anderson and a regular goal from Brewer were not enough to keep up with County Line as they restored their 4-point lead at 31-27.
The Hawks scored 11 in the final quarter but the Indians scored 12 to protect their lead and win the game 43-38. Will Anderson made the Hawks’ eighth trey in the final quarter with Cates popping in two goals and two free throws, Brewer added a pair of free tosses to round out the scoring.
The boys’ next game will be Thursday night at home playing the Thaden Barnstormers at 7 p.m. The winner of that game plays the winner of Clarksville and Neosho at 7 p.m. Friday with the loser of the Thaden/Pea Ridge game playing at 4 p.m. Friday in the losers bracket.
The championship game is set for 3:30 p.m. Saturday with the third place playoff set for 2 p.m. Saturday.