District Champions

Blackhawks defeat Shiloh in double overtime to win title

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

— Proving that stamina and resilience are the the hallmarks of great teams, Pea Ridge’s Blackhawks swept through four opponents in six days to claim their first ever 1-4A District Basketball Championship before a packed gymnasium at home Saturday night.

The final game, a double overtime 61-58 win over nemesis Shiloh School, took every ounce of strength and endurance the ’Hawks could muster as they grabbed a top seed heading into next week’s Northwest 4A Regional Tournament at Pottsville. The ’Hawks will begin Region play pitted against Subiaco Academy in the first round at 5:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 23.

Pea Ridge’s big man Cameron Thompson came up big with 15 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. The other senior starter, Kasey Cooper, combined with Thompson to score 23 of the team’s 28 points over that span of time. Dakota Woodward scored 12 points and played the last half of the fourth quarter and both overtimes carrying foul fouls. Woodward’s numerous assists and generally great ball handling was key to the ’Hawk success.

Although not a tournament game, on Feb. 14, the ’Hawks whipped Shiloh 69-60 in a makeup game to claim the district tournament’s No. 3 seed.

On Feb. 16, the ’Hawks whipped Gravette 67-39 in the tournament quarter-finals before upsetting Prairie Grove 59-55 in the semi-finals Friday.

“The community and the students came out all week to to demonstrate their great support for the Blackhawks,” coach Charley Clark said, “and I was especially pleased with the teams’ effort and desire throughout the tournament.

“It’s always nice when hard work pays off and it didn’t hurt that it was a Saturday night championship game against Shiloh. I hope we can carry this momentum over into the regionals against a tough Subiaco team.”

Against Shiloh, the ’Hawks suffered through a sub-standard shooting night but scratched out a victory anyway, using clutch free throw shooting and a hustling defense when it most counted. Cooper hit four of four free throws in the game’s closing seconds to provide the winning margin, a margin that was cemented by sophomore Jacob Hall’s defensive rebound and runout of Shiloh’s final shot of the game.

The ’Hawks, who sank 14 of their first 15 free throws, took the game’s first lead on the strength of Thompson’s two for two effort in the games’ opening seconds. After Shiloh tied the score on a layup, junior Dakota Woodward dropped in a trey for a 5-2 lead. After exchanging turnovers, Shiloh ripped two consecutive 3-pointers to take a 8-5 lead but a pair of treys by Woodward and an acrobatic layup by junior Ethan Higgins regained the lead for Pea Ridge at 13-8 with 2:40 left in the first quarter. Thompson countered a Shiloh layup with one of his own as the quarter ended, with the ’Hawks up 15-10.

The second period was marked by intense defensive pressure from both sides, with Shiloh suffering seven turnovers on their way to scoring just 5 points in the quarter.

The ’Hawks’ two seniors provided all the offense with Cooper sinking a 3-pointer and a layup with Thompson contributing a free throw and layup as Pea Ridge went into intermission with a 23-15 advantage.

The ’Hawks’ halftime lead nearly evaporated in the third quarter’s first two minutes as Shiloh struck for a trey, free throw and layup to almost catch the hosts, trailing just 23-21. The ’Hawks were up to the challenge as Higgins knifed through the heart of the Shiloh defense to drop in a layup which was followed by another trey by Cooper as Pea Ridge got most of their margin back, leading 28-21 with 4:00 left in the third. A subsequent 3-pointer by Shiloh was matched by a Cooper layup and free throw on the same play, with a Shiloh layup matched by two for two free throw shooting by Higgins as Pea Ridge maintained a 7-point lead with a minute left inthe half. The visitors converted a jump shot in the quarter’s waning moments with the ’Hawks missing their final shot as the fourth quarter began with Pea Ridge ahead 33-28.

The fourth quarter was another senior moment with Thompson and Cooper accounting for all the offense. Thompson barrelled through the lane for three successive layups but the visitors countered with a pair of layups and three free throws as the ’Hawk lead narrowed to 39-35 midway in the period.

The ’Hawks would go nearly four minutes without a field goal while Shiloh scored on a hook shot, layup and offensive rebound as the was knotted at 41-41 with two minutes left. Cooper’s two for two performance from the charity stripe kept the ’Hawks from falling behind during the Shiloh comeback. Thompson converted his fourth layup of the period to take the lead back but Shiloh sank two freebies to retie the score at 43-43 with 1:22 left in the game.

A ’Hawk turnover proved nearlydisastrous but a clutch defensive rebound by Hall allowed the ’Hawks to have the game’s last shot. The last shot proved to be just inches short as it bounced off the front of the rim as time expired, throwing the game into overtime.

Shiloh scored quickly to take their first lead since early in the first quarter but Thompson erased the advantage with a pair of free throws soon after. Then, in one of the most bizarre moments of the game, Cooper was fouled in the backcourt with the Shiloh player who was called for the foul, attempting to pull down Cooper’s shorts.

The game was halted momentarily with the officials speaking to the Shiloh guard but no further foul was called. Cooper then knocked down both shots as Pea Ridge regained the lead 47-45 with 2:31 left.

Shiloh scored on their next possession but the seemingly unstoppable Thompson hit yet another layup for a 49-47 lead. With the possession arrow in the ’Hawks favor, Thompson tied up Shiloh’s ball under their backboard to force their 18th turnover of the game. Thompson was then hacked in the lane driving fora score on the other end. The burly senior hit both free shots to give the ’Hawks some breathing room at 51-47 with 0:50 left in the game.

Shiloh responded with a layup to cut the lead back to 2, then fouled the ’Hawks with 19 seconds left. Pea Ridge, which had missed one one free throw in their previous 15 shots, couldn’t get either one to go, giving Shiloh one last chance. The Springdale private school made the most of it, hitting a layup with 5 seconds left to tie it up at 51-all, sending the game into a second overtime.

Shiloh won the opening tip then sent elation through the Shiloh faithful by ripping a 3-pointer to give them their biggest lead of the game, 54-51, with 3:29 showing.

Thompson cut down a little of the deficit with a free throw then Woodward brought the crowd to its feet with a trey to regain the lead for Pea Ridge at 55-54. Shiloh hit a 7-foot jumper but a quick hitting layup by Hall kept the ’Hawks ahead by one at 57-56 with two minutes left in the game.

Frantic play led to turnovers by both sides as the game slipped under the one minute mark withPea Ridge clinging to their slim lead. Trying to force the issue, Shiloh fouled Cooper out front but the senior foward cooly sank both free throws for a 59-56 lead. Shiloh quickly went to work, ramming through another layup to take the ’Hawk lead back down to one. Once again, with Cooper and the ’Hawks intent on melting the clock, Shiloh was forced to foul and Cooper again converted both opportunities to restore the 3-point edge. With the clock clicking down to less than six seconds, Shiloh put up a errant 3-point shot which Hall promptly rebounded then moved up court where he was fouled with less than a second to go. After misfiring on the first attempt, Hall purposely missed on the second, allowing the ball to bound off to finish draining the clock and thereby ice the victory.

Thompson scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods to lead the team offensively with 22 points overall. Cooper was nine for nine at the free throw line as he scored 19 points in the ’Hawks’ winning effort. Other Pea Ridge scorers included: Woodward with 12, Higgins 6 and Hall 2.

Sports, Pages 9 on 02/23/2011