Blackhawks turned back by Indians for tourney title
Pea Ridge got into a hole early and County Line wouldn’t let the Blackhawks ever climb out.
The Indians used a 10-0 first-quarter run to grab the lead and improved to 18-0 with a 70-61 win over the Blackhawks to claim the Battle of the Ridge title Saturday afternoon in Blackhawk Arena.
Sophomore James Bledsoe’s 3-pointer in the opening minutes gave Pea Ridge its only lead of the game, 3-2. But County Line responded with back-to-back treys to start a 10-0 spurt and never trailed again.
The Indians led 35-25 at halftime and 51-43 after three quarters.
Pea Ridge Coach Trent Loyd wasn’t displeased with his group; he came away with nothing but respect for the Class 1A Indians. He said his team did a better job of attacking County Line’s 1-3-1 zone in the second half.
“They are a good basketball team,” Loyd said. “They are gonna win a ton of games. It’ll be interesting to see how they finish. They have a chance to make a deep run. I thought we just came out a little sloppy, had too many turnovers early.
“We turned it over 11 times I think in the first half. Second half we only had one … We took care of it, were a little more aggressive instead of just trying to pass over it, we started attacking. And I think you saw our guys get a little more confident in that 1-3-1 they’re so good at … We just got to find ways to cut out some mental lapses, take care of the basketball a little bit better and know that we had a good week this week and build on it.”
Senior Colton Thurman led a balanced scoring attack for Pea Ridge (8-4) with 15 on five 3-pointers. Junior Benjamin Wheeler added 13, while Josh Turner and J.B. Bledsoe chipped in 12 each. Bledsoe also hit four 3-pointers.
Aundrea Milum poured in a game-high 27, while Drake Price chipped in 16 for the Indians. Trenton Johnston was also in double figures with 12.
County Line Coach Joe Brunson said his team played more efficiently offensively despite playing for the third straight night.
“Offensively, we were better tonight,” Brunson said. “We scored the ball more efficiently that we had the earlier two rounds. Pea Ridge, they really guard you and try to take away what you want to do. We just played more relaxed tonight.”
The Indians return six players who saw significant action last year for a state runner-up team. And that showed some even this weekend.
“At times they seem more comfortable in the bigger moments, just having been there before,” Brunson said. “It was a close game and we had to keep guarding and keep trying to score and hold on to a lead we were able to do it.”
In the third-place game, Bergman defeated Elkins 66-47 and Neosho, Mo., defeated McDonald County, Mo., 50-44 to claim fifth place.
Bergman jumped to a 20-8 lead after a quarter and 38-23 by halftime.
Elkins sliced the lead down to nine after three quarters, but Bergman pushed the lead back out in the fourth quarter and cruised to the win.
Sewer Schbert led Bergman with 16, while Bryson Bauer added 11 and Walker Patton 10. John Townsend led Elkins with 13, while Trace Keller and Steven Holland added 11 each for Elkins.