Pea Ridge hangs on for 46-44 win over Prairie Grove boys

PEA RIDGE — Pea Ridge’s boys basketball team, missing two keys players, held on for a 46-44 win over Prairie Grove at Blackhawk Arena Friday.

Sophomores Anthoni Ayala (two 3-pointers, 23 points) and Skye Davenport (10 points) provided some offensive punch and combined to make 9 of 11 free throws, empowering the Blackhawks to pull off their second 2-point conference victory of the week.

The Blackhawks are without senior captain Ben Wheeler, a skilled 6-6 player, who factored prominently into Pea Ridge’s schemes. He sustained two broken wrists when he got bodied up going for a dunk against Farmington on Jan. 26, while Landon Ayala, the older brother of Anthoni, broke his wrist at Gravette on Jan. 30.

“Anthoni played really well. He’s been averaging about 20 the last two weeks since Wheeler’s been out,” said Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd.

In a see-saw battle, Prairie Grove jumped out to a 16-13 first quarter lead.

Prairie Grove (9-17, 4-10) got 21 points from sophomore Cole McGarrah, the only Tiger to reach double figures for Prairie Grove. He started the game red hot, knocking down a trio of 3-point shots and scoring 14 points in the first quarter.

“The McGarrah kid hit some really tough shots early,” Loyd said. “It was a dogfight. The game went back and forth. We were up in the third quarter, then Prairie Grove took the lead in the fourth,” Loyd said. “J.B. Bledsoe hit a three to give us the lead and we just kind of hung on.”

Pea Ridge countered by holding McGarrah scoreless in the second quarter and grabbed a 26-25 edge at halftime. Anthoni Ayala scored a dozen points in the first half and went 4 for 4 at the foul line during the third. He carried the load much of the way.

Four points separated the teams with Pea Ridge leading 39-34 at the end of the third period.

The Blackhawks struggled to score, making 4 of 7 free throws and managing just seven points in the fourth, but it was enough to hold on for a 46-44 victory. Anthoni Ayala hit a 3-pointer, the only field goal for the Blackhawks in the fourth. Bledsoe added 8 points for Pea Ridge.

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, Pea Ridge emerged from a road battle at Huntsville with a 6058 win. With the two league wins Pea Ridge finished 12-2 in the 4A-1 Conference and 25-4 overall going into postseason.

Alex Martinez scored 8 points, Cole Edmiston had 6, Jace Edwards 4, and Blake Coughran drilled a 3-pointer for the Tigers.

Prairie Grove (9-17, 4-10) finished sixth in the 4A-1 boys basketball standings and tipped off the district tournament at Gravette’s Lion Arena on Tuesday at 8 p.m. against No. 7 seed, Gentry (8-20, 2-12). That game came after press time. Should the Tigers win, they would advance to a Wednesday, Feb. 14, game against No. 3 seed Gravette (16-8, 9-5) at 8 p.m., with the winner to face Pea Ridge in Friday’s late semifinal scheduled for 8 p.m.