Blackhawks nail down Regional berth with win
BERRYVILLE — Pea Ridge came out smoking from 3-point range while suffocating Prairie Grove offensively and claiming a 42-30 win at the 4A-1 District tournament Wednesday, Feb. 15, in Berryville.
Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd said he wanted to tighten some things up and fine tune some details after the Blackhawks (20-10, 10-4) won 54-44 at Prairie Grove (9-18, 4-10) in the regular season finale on Feb. 10, and the Blackhawks looked the part. Pea Ridge made only two 3-pointers against the Tigers on Feb. 10. Pea Ridge drained eight this time around as Prairie Grove worked to cut off driving lanes.
“They’ve done a great job all year sharing it so right now whatever the defense gives them they’ve been doing it. If you try to collapse we’ve been kicking it out to our shooters. If you stay on them, then we’re getting to the hole. That’s just the way it’s got to be right now. We got to play as a team down the stretch. Hopefully, we’ll keep trending that way,” Loyd said.
Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston wanted to create some confidence and momentum going into the tournament, but Pea Ridge’s combination of smooth offense and tough defense put a wrinkle on that. Blackhawk sophomore James Bledsoe scored all 12 first quarter points, hitting four times from beyond the arc and Pea Ridge took a 12-5 lead into the second quarter.
Zion Whitmore’s behind-theback assist to Ben Wheeler capped a 14-3 Blackhawk run in the second quarter. Cole Edmiston drove left-to-right across the lane and Eric Henderson snapped two free throws for Prairie Grove, but the Tigers faced a 26-12 deficit at halftime.
The Tigers played outstanding defense operating from a 2-3 zone in the third. At one point Prairie Grove made three straight steals when Pea Ridge tried to force passes into the paint. The problem for the Tigers was they couldn’t score and found themselves behind 34-16 at the end of the third quarter.
Pea Ridge was even better on defense, denying both Henderson and Jace Edwards any good looks. Every shot Henderson put up was contested. Josh Turner blocked a Tiger layup attempt early in the fourth. Henderson didn’t get his first field goal until finishing a lefthanded drive to make it 36-18 with 6:16 remaining in the fourth.
Prairie Grove got two offensive rebounds by Sam Kidd on one sequence after missed 3-point shots by Henderson. Kidd drove the lane, but couldn’t score. Bric Cates took the rebound and went coast-to-coast to give Pea Ridge a 38-18 lead at the 5:29 mark. The Blackhawks’ biggest lead of 41-18 occurred on Whitmore’s 3-pointer just over a minute later.
Midway through the final quarter, Steve Edmiston opted to let his seniors play out the final game of their careers and inserted Corbin Bowlin and Evan Weyl along with sophomore Alex Abshier to finish the contest with seniors Kidd and Austin Henry.
Kidd scored off a cut to the goal, Henry hit a pair of threes and took a steal in for an uncontested basket while Weyl knocked down a turnaround bank shot as the Tigers closed the game on a 12-1 run.
Bledsoe scored 12 points to lead the Blackhawks. With the win Pea Ridge moved into Thursday’s semifinal against No. 2 seed Huntsville and qualified for the 4A North Regional this week at Morrilton.
Cole Edmiston scored 9 points for Prairie Grove. Prairie Grove defeated Shiloh Christian, 52-47, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, to advance into the quarterfinal. The loss eliminated the Tigers from the postseason. Pea Ridge 42, Prairie Grove 30 Pea Ridge ............ 12 14 8 8 — 42 Prairie Grove ......... 5 7 4 14 — 30 Prairie Grove (9-18, 4-10): Cole Edmiston 4 0-0 9, Austin Henry 3 0-0 8, Eric Henderson 1 3-4 5, Tate Benoit 2 0-0 4, Sam Kidd 1 0-1 2, Evan Weyl 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 3-5 30.
Pea Ridge (20-10, 10-4): James Bledsoe 4 0-2 12, Bric Cates 3 1-2 7, Ben Wheeler 3 0-0 7, Zion Whitmore 2 1-1 6, Luke Baker 1 0-0 3, Colton Thurman 1 0-0 3, Josh Turner 1 0-0 2, Evan Anderson 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 2-5 42.
3-Point Goals — Pea Ridge 8 (Bledsoe 4, Wheeler, Whitmore, Baker, Thurman). Prairie Grove 3 (Henry 2, Edmiston).