PEA RIDGE — In a game of monumental momentum changes, the Blackhawk varsity boys held off the top seeded Southwest Trojans to claim their third straight Holiday Tournament Championship with a hard fought 73-69 victory.

“This game was huge for us, as we beat a very good team on their home floor,” Charley Clark, head coach, said. “I thought we had it won there towards the end, that is, until Southwest got hot. There was nothing wrong with our defense as Southwest just about hit everything they threw up there at the end.

“While it is true we start four seniors and we do have a seasoned team, our juniors and sophomores were critical to our win tonight,” Clark said. “This was truly a team effort.

We are looking forward to getting back to conference play next week.”

Cameron Thompson got the ’Hawks off to a 2-0 lead, laying the ball off the glass with a spin move in the game’s opening seconds.

A free throw by Thompson and a lay-up off a Kip Kelly feed matched the Trojans as the teams were tied 5-5 with 5:12 showing.

With 4:40 left, Kelly drew several defenders as he broke for the basket for a lay-up, but the senior forward spotted Thompson all alone under the goal as Kelly made the pass underneath for an easy bucket by Thompson.

Four points by Southwest got the lead back for the hosts at 9-7, but an outstanding lead pass by Kasey Cooper helped Thompson score again, adding a free throw on the accompanying foul as Pea Ridge regained the lead 10-9. After the Trojans regained a 1-point lead, a lay-up by Thompson and rebound baskets by Kelly and Thompson sent the ’Hawks into the second quarter with a 5-point lead at 16-11.

The second period went badly for the ’Hawks early on as five turnovers stopped the offense with a double foul on Kelly, sending him to the bench. Overthe first six minutes of the period, Pea Ridge could manage only a Thompson lay-up and Cooper 3-pointer as the ’Hawks fell behind 26-21. After a Thompson lay-up cut the deficit to 26-23 with 1:43 left in the half, Clark sent several reserves into the contest with all three connecting on shots as the ’Hawks led at the break 32-28. After Cooper hit a seven-foot shot, Ethan Higgins sank a short jumper, Levi Roughton rolled in a lay-up, with Dakota Woodward draining a 3-point shot at the buzzer as the ’Hawks scored 11 points in a 90-second span.

Ninety seconds of windsprints to open the third quarter seemed to ignite the ’Hawks’ offense as they went on a 15-2 run to take command of the game. After each team fast broke down the floor three consecutive times without a score, Ramsey broke the ice with a lay-up followed by a another one by Thompson on a great lead pass by Kelly. The onslaught began to mount as a Rhine lay-up was followed by a Cooper 3-point basket and rebound basket and another goal by Thompson. Scoring only free throws until the final two minutes of the quarter, Southwest finally got three field goals to go down, but a score in the paint by Kelly, another 3-pointer byCooper, two more goals by Thompson and a tip-in by Higgins sent the Trojans reeling as the hosts trailed Pea Ridge by a whopping 19 points, 56-37, headed into the final period.

An 8-point scoringoutburst by Thompson to begin the final period along with a Rhine lay-up seemingly put the game out of reach as Pea Ridge led by 16, 64-48 with only 3:18 left in the game. The Trojans’ chance for a victory appeared to winding down along with the clock as Southwest could manage only a single field goal over the next minute and a half. The ’Hawks still maintained a substantial lead, 64-50, with two minutes left and with one of the ’Hawk players stepping to the free throw line for a one-and-one opportunity.

The first shot was off the mark with the Trojans grabbing the ensuing rebound and flying down the floor to score on a layup. Southwest promptly stole the inbounds pass to score again, and defensive inbounds pressure caused the ’Hawks to throw the ball away again with the Trojans taking advantage to score still again as the Pea Ridge lead shrank to just 64-56 in just 19 seconds of elapsed time.

With only 1:38 left in the game, Southwest decided to foul the ’Hawks to get the ball back and shoot 3 pointers to have a chance at a comeback victory.

After Rhine was quickly fouled, the senior forward made both attempts from the charity line but the Trojans drilled a 3-pointer seconds later to further diminish the ’Hawk lead to 66-59. A ’Hawk player was again quickly fouled but this time, the free throw was errant as Southwest gathered in the rebound, hustled down the field anddrilled another 3-pointer to get the Trojans back in the game, trailing only 66-62 with 1:01 left in the game.

Cooper and Rhine were fouled as well as a Trojan shooter with all three players sinking both of their shots as Pea Ridge led 70-64 with 0:41 left. It appeared that Southwest had hit their third 3-pointer in a row to close to within three of Pea Ridge, but it was ruled that the Trojan had one foot on the line, leaving the ’Hawks up 70-66 with 0:27 left. Rhine was then quickly fouled but the senior guard cooly sank both attempts to give Pea Ridge a 72-66 lead with 0:22 left.

In what turned out to be the final back-breaker for Southwest, Cooper forced a Trojan to lose the ball out of bounds with 0:15 left, stopping the Trojans streak of seven consecutive scoring trips down the floor.

Rhine was then fouled with 0:10 left and he converted one of the two shots to ice the game at 73-66. Southwest sank a long 3 before the buzzer but it was too little too late as Pea Ridge claimed the upset.

Thompson had another big night offensively as he rang up 32 points, 18 in the first half. Cooper finished with 15 points, with Rhine scoring 11, Kelly 4, Higgins 4, Woodward 3, Ramsey 2 and Roughton 2.

Sports, Pages 7 on 01/06/2010