’Hawks throttle Ft. Smith Southside

The Blackhawk basketball boys took down their third straight 7A classification team of the season as they dispatched the Ft. Smith Southside Rebels 69-44 Saturday in the Arvest Hoopfest Basketball Classic in Rogers.

The game was the consolation final of the large school tournament which attracted five 7A teams, two teams from the 5A class, with the ’Hawks being the lone 4A representative. Pea Ridge suffered through their worst shooting night of the year in first round action as they dropped a 52-33 decision to Waynesville (Mo.), a large high school from central Missouri. On Friday, while still suffering from subpar shooting, the ’Hawks were dominant on defense to bounce back to defeat Hot Springs 61-55 to set up Saturday’s tussle with Ft. Smith.

Pea Ridge 69, Southside 55

The big school Rebels looked confident to start the game, hitting their first three shots in their first three possessions to grab a 7-2 lead, with Nick Deleon’s 12-foot jumper the ’Hawks’ only score in the game’s first 2 minutes.

After coach Charlie Clark called a timeout to realign the defense, the ’Hawks got hot, with Hall ripping a 3-pointer followed by goals by Levi Pitts and Hall as Pea Ridge soared ahead 10-7 with four minutes left in the opening quarter. The Rebels would score but a single field goal and solitary free throw for the rest of the quarter. Meanwhile, the ’Hawks’ Hall scored a layup with Logan Rose hurting the Rebels with a layup, rebound shot and a free throw as the ’Hawks closed out the first quarter sporting a 17-11 advantage.

An Isaac Mangrum tip in followed by a Hall layup gave Pea Ridge a 21-12 lead with 6:11 left in the half. Pitts also contributed a layup which was countered by a Rebel trey and free throw as Pea Ridge still led 23-16. Rose hit four of four free throws with Pitts scoring a pair of field goals as the ’Hawks got their biggest lead of the game at 31-19. Southside scored on a layup and free throw but Evan Tillman’s successful two-for-two from the line kept the ’Hawk lead in the double digits as Pea Ridge led 33-22 going into intermission.

Hall put the hurt on any comeback plans by the Rebels, scoring two consecutive 3-pointers to give the ’Hawks an intimidating 39-22 lead to start the third quarter. Pitts’ successful free throws offset a Rebel layup, but two more layups by the Trojans gave them a glimmer of hope as they only trailed by 9, 41-30 midway into the period. After not scoring for more than two minutes, Deleon broke the ice with a long jumper which was followed just seconds later by a pair of shots from the line as the ’Hawks rebuilt their lead to 45-30. Buckets by Lance Buttry and Pitts built up the ’Hawk lead to 49-31. Hot Springs managed 4 more pointsbut a Pitts’ score just before the buzzer gave Pea Ridge a commanding 51-35 advantage going into the fourth period.

With a big lead and content to play deliberate ball, the ’Hawks forced the Rebels to start fouling the Blackhawks but the Southside strategy was ineffective as Pea Ridge sank 15 of 18 chances at the charity stripe. The Rebels struck for four field goals but were 0 for 6 from the line. DeLeon was 6 for 6, Hall 2 for 2, Loyd Kalberloh was 4-4, with Hall, Tillman and Tristan going 2 for 2. Pitts scored the only field goal for the ’Hawks in the final quarter with the ’Hawks leading by 27 before a Rebel rebound just before the final buzzer set the final margin at 69-44.

Hall led with 19 points with Pitts having 18, Rose 9, Deleon 8, Mangrum 5, Tillman 3, Lloyd 2 and Tristan 1.

Pea Ridge 61, Hot Springs 55

Hot Springs got off to a hot start in the consolation semi-final, hitting six of their first eight shots to take a 13-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

The ’Hawks could only muster a 3-pointer by Evan Tillman, a putback by Isaac Mangrum, and a free throw by Jacob Hall.

At the 3:40 mark, coach Charlie Clark called a time out which was followed quickly by a Jacob Hall layup, a ’Hawk steal and a bucket by Tillman to cut the deficit to 13-10. After Clark’s timeout, the Trojans would not be able to field a point until the final 3 secondsof the first period. A free throw by Logan Rose and layup by Hall tied the score at 13-all with just over a minute left in the quarter but a turnover followed by the Trojans last second bucket left the ’Hawks trailing 15-13 heading into the second quarter.

Hot Springs quickly opened up a 5-point lead in the second quarter’s opening seconds but Tillman’s second trey and a rebound score by Hall knotted the score at 18-18. Hot Springs countered with a 3-pointer but Hall sank a free throw and a layup to re-tie the contest at 21-21 mid-way in the period. A flurry of Pea Ridge turnovers derailed any ’Hawk scoring before the half with the Trojans using the opportunity to score on a pair of layups to go into intermission with a 25-21 advantage.

Mangrum started the second half by hitting on a layup, with Hall converting a pair of layups of offset two short jump shots as the ’Hawks trailed just 29-27 at the 6:00 mark. Nick Deleon scored on a rebound to tie the game at 29-29 but a Trojan layup moments later kept the lead in Hot Spring’s favor. With 4:28 left in the quarter, Mangrum ripped a pair of free throws to tie the score again, the Deleon exploded for 4 points, scoring on a layup and 10-foot jumper to give their first lead of the game at 35-31.

After Hot Springs scored underneath, Levi Pitts erupted for a bucket and two free throws, followed by a Tillman field goal as the ’Hawks surged to a 41-33 leadwith a minute to go in the quarter. Hot Springs managed to out back an offensive rebound to cut the ’Hawk lead to 41-35 going into the final quarter.

A Tillman trey offset a Trojan layup as Pea Ridge led 44-37 with 6:50 left in the game. Numerous turnovers by the ’Hawks stymied the offense, giving Hot Springs the chance to get back into the game, and the Trojans obliged by hitting three straight field goals a well as a pair of charity tosses.

The Trojan comeback gave them a 46 -44 lead with 4:2 left in the contest.

Hall took the lead back with a 3-pointer with 4:30 left but the Trojans popped in one of their own seconds later. Hall then dropped in a layup to tie the game at 49-49 with Pitts scoring after a steal to put the ’Hawks ahead 51-49 with 3:20 left in the game. After Hot Springs knotted the game again on a 10-footer, Hall threw in one from downtown to put Pea Ridge up 54-51 with 2:20 left. A pair of scores by Mangrum in the paint negated two Trojan layups as the ’Hawks maintained a 3-point lead with less than a minute to go.

The last seconds saw both the ’Hawks and the Trojans go to the free throw line but while the Trojans came up empty, Hall sank a pair with Mangrum scoring the last point of the game as the ’Hawks won 61-55.

Hall led the scoring with 27, followed by Tillman 11, Pitts 8, Mangrum 7, Deleon 4, Pitts 2 and Rose 1.

Sports, Pages 7 on 12/12/2012