SPRINGDALE — A furious comeback rally by the Blackhawk varsity boys’ basketball team was turned back by deadly free throw shooting by the Farmington Cardinals as Pea Ridge was defeated 67-55 in the district semi-finals.
Poor shooting by the ’Hawks along with a very subpar rebounding effort kept the ’Hawks in hole for most of the first half. Trailing by 15 points and seemingly headed for a lopsided defeat at the hands of the highly ranked Cardinals, coach Charley Clarke unleashed a torrid press near midway of the third quarter which resulted in a 18-5 scoring run that nearly tied the game.
Cold shooting came back to frustrate the ’Hawks though, as they were off the mark for 11 of their last 13 shots from the field while the Cards made their last 12 free throws in a row to fend off Pea Ridge’s bid for an upset.
“We were just awful in rebounding in the first half, though we did comeback in the second half,” Clarke said. “And make no mistake, Farmington is a very very good team. They have been ranked in the top five of the state for most of the year.”
The ’Hawks misfired on their first five shots from the floor with the Cards canning their first two as they led 4-0 after 3 minutes. Cameron Thompson, who was the only ’Hawk to score until the quarter’s last second, broke the ice with a offensive putback and free throw to cut the lead to 4-3 with 5:01 showing. Kip Kelly whipped an entry pass to Thompson seconds later which resulted in a bucket underneath and the ’Hawks’ first and last lead of the game at 5-4 with 4:33 left in the first.
Farmington scored on a rebound and free throw to retake the lead moments later but a pair of free throws by Thompson knotted the score at 7-7 with 4:01 showing. Three Cardinal layups and a pair of Farmington free throws while the ’Hawks missed five straight shots combined to put Pea Ridgebehind 15-7 with 1:14 left in the quarter.
While the Cards did drain a 3-pointer, Thompson scored on a steal and layup as well as a free throw with Ethan Rhine knocking one down at the buzzer as Pea Ridge trailed 18-12 after one period.
The Cards got cold from the line as they missed four free throws to begin the secoond quarter. A 5-footer by Levi Roughton cut the gap to 18-14 with 6:19 left in the half. Farmington responded with a layup, 5-footer and free throw to maintain their advantage while Thompson was connecting on a rebound shot and free throw as the Cardinals kept their lead at 23-17.
Kasey Cooper hit a free throw but the Cardinals scored three times in the paint as well as from the 3-point arc as Farmingtonshot ahead 32-18 with two minutes left in the half.
Rhine made an acrobatic layup along with a free throw while Kelly and Thompson each had a free throw to mostly offset a pair of Cardinal layups as Pea Ridge trailed 36-23 at intermission.
Cooper scored on a layup to start the second half but a second successful layup by the ’Hawks’ main deep threat was waved off when he was whistled for charging. Subsequent field goals and free throws by Farmington seemed poised to turn the game into a rout as the Cards led 42-27 with 5:33 left in the third quarter.
At this point, Clarke threw a press on the Cards with the ’Hawks responding by stealing a pass, then feeding Rhine for a good shot from the 3-point line which was followed by a steal and layup by TylerRamsey to cut the deficit to 42-32. Cooper sank a 3-pointer which was quickly followed by a Rhine steal then pass to Kelly for a layup as the ’Hawks melted the lead to just 5, trailing 42-37. A steal and layup by Cooper and an outside shot by Thompson matched a pair of shots by the Cards before a Roughton layup got the ’Hawks back to within 3 at 46-43. Thompson rang up a layup to bring the ’Hawks to within one point, but a turnover and subsequent foul netted the Cardinals a point and a 47-45 lead headed into the final quarter.
A bad ’Hawk pass led to a Farmington layup and another Pea Ridge turnover was followed by still another Cardinal layup. A lone free throw by Rhine was all the offense the ’Hawks could muster as they fell further behind 53-47.
Sports, Pages 7 on 02/24/2010