Blackhawks break slump, dump Berryville

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

— In a game that started like “Crazy Eights,” the ’Hawks came up with all “aces” in the second half to cruise by the Berryville Bobcats 63-48.

Last week, Pea Ridge suffered through what head coach Charley Clarke characterized as a “late season lull” which saw them barely get past 211th ranked Gravette before losing to 133rd ranked Prairie Grove. The Blackhawks then began the first eight minutes of last Fridays tilt with the Bobcats by scoring a scant eight points while committing eight turnovers in the process.

“We played poorly earlier in the week, almost losing to the last place team (Gravette) while we did lose the following night to Prairie Grove,” Clarke reflected.

“We struggled tonight in the first half but, to the boys’ credit, they came backout after intermission and played much better.”

The early minutes of the first quarter saw a littany of errors by both sides as the turnovers mounted up far more quickly than did points. After the ’Hawks and Bobcats exchanged turnovers to begin the game, Berryville sank a 10-footer to score the game’s first points as they led 2-0 with 7:03 showing. Cameron Thompson’s put back of an offensive rebound tied the score. Both teamsthen committed five more turnovers each with only a steal and score by Kip Kelly to break up the sloppy play.

A pair of additional ’Hawk tunovers led to two Bobcat scores in the paint as Berryville surged ahead 6-4 with 5:07 left in the period. Kasey Cooper pulled off a steal then fed Kelly for a layup to tied the score at 6-6 before the Cats tossed in a pair of field goals to gain a 10-6 lead with 2:10 left.

Ethan Rhine dropped in a layup to cut the lead to 10-8 but Berryville struck from the 3-point art to make it 13-8 with the clock running out on the quarter. A foul in the final second the the half allowed Rhine a pair of free throws which the senior guard sank to cut the lead to 13-10.

The ’Hawks managed to cut the turnovers to just one in the second quarter as a brief run in the early going gave them the lead back. A free throw by Thompson cut into the deficit, then a diving grab and flip of a loose ball by Dakota Woodward led to a layup by Rhine that put the ’Hawks into a 13-13 tie.

A Cooper layup gave the ’Hawks a brief lead but the Cats managed to land a pair of long shots to resumed a lead, 18-15. Sophomore ’Hawk Levi Roughton entered the game in the final two minutes and he came up with a field goal and two free throws to erase most of the deficit. A final free throw by the visitors gave Berryville a 1-point lead at the half, 20-19.

The ’Hawks left the dressing room with their hair on fire, clamping down on the Cats defensively while pouring 23 points through the nets to take a formidable lead by quarter’s end.

A Cooper layup followed by one free throw by Thompson quickly tied the score at 22-22. An 8-foot jump shot by Kelly gave the ’Hawks a 24-22 lead with a 5-footer by Kelly with 5:41 left in the third gave the home boys a 26-23 advantage. Berryville then dropped through a pair of 3s but a field goal and a free throw by Kelly tied the two conference rivals again, this time at 29-all.

Cooper burned the Cats with a 3-pointer and then sank both ends of a one-and-one to give Pea Ridge a 5-point advantage.

Thompson then broke loose with a pair of layups and single free throw to double the ’Hawks’ lead to 39-29. A Bobcat 5-footer shrunk the lead somewhat, but Cooper hit a long 3-pointer as the quarter ended with Pea Ridge firmly ahead 42-31.

Another 3-pointer by Cooper to start the last quarter seemed to render the ’Hawk lead nearly invincible. A Bobcat 3-pointer with 5:5l gave the visitors a slight hope. Layups by Kelly and Cooper along with a pair of free throws by Thompson gave the ’Hawks a 51-36 bulge with only half a quarter left. After Kelly matched a Bobcat layup, the Berryville coach called a timeout to change tactics which would force the ’Hawks to make free throws if they wanted to protect their lead.

The Cats then drained four straight 3-point attempts to manufacture points in a hurry, but the ’Hawks countered by sinking 12 of 13 shots from the charity stripe. Rhine was to convert six of six shots from the free throw line with Kelly, Cooper and Thompson each hitting both their shots as the Blackhawks iced the contest. The game’s last 26 seconds expired with Rhine dribbling the ball at mid=court with players from both teams commending each other for a well played game.

After turning the ball over 10 times in the first half, the ’Hawks committed just two in the third quarter with no turnovers whatsoever in the game’s decisive fourth quarter. Pea Ridge also converted 23 of 28 free shots for the game, a stat Clarke was happy to see heading into the regular seaaon’s final week.

“We have the ability to beat any school in our classification if we play our best,” Clarke said, “and we could also lose to most any team if we don’t. We have to play the league co-leaders (Huntsville and Farmington) on the road next week so it is imperative we play our best as we get ready for the district playoffs.”

Sports, Pages 7 on 02/10/2010