Charley Clark’s hardwood Blackhawks opened the 2012-2013 conference schedule in fine fashion, putting away the Gravette Lions 75-63 to open play, then taking care of Lincoln 55-41 at home to start 2-0.
The ’Hawks battled on fairly even terms with the favored Lions until a scoring surge by Zach Davis gave the ’Hawks a lead they would never relinquish.
Jacob Hall sparked the ’Hawks’ offense with 27 points.
Turnovers plagued the ’Hawks in the first quarter, losing possession eight times. Although the ’Hawks only came up with three field goals in the quarter, they ripped eight of eight free throws to end the quarter with the ’Hawks on top 15-13. Hall was four for four from the line while Isaac Mangrum and Logan Rose sank both their chances. A Nick DeLeon jump shot, a lay-up by Levi Pitts and a trey by Hall were the ’Hawks’ points from the field.
The Gravette home crowd was jazzed when the Lions scored on a rebound shot to tie the score to start the second quarter, then shot to a 6-point 21-15 lead after a pair of 3-pointers.
Halls 3-pointer cut the lead to 21-18. Hall and Pitts thentraded buckets with Gravette as the home boys still led by 6 with a little over 4 minutes left in the half.
Over the next 90 seconds, though, the game changed drastically.
With Davis in the game, the Lions elected not to guard him closely and the sophomore made them regret it as he swished a pair of treys 14 seconds apart to tie the score 26-26.
After clearing the boards on a missed Gravette shot, Evan Tillman was open for a 3 and the senior guard drained it, giving the ’Hawks a 29-26 lead after trailing 26-20 minutes before. The ’Hawks stepped up their defense with the ball stripped from the Lions on two straight possessions, allowing Hall to streak down the floor to drop in a pair of lay-ups. A Gravette time-out stopped the surge but not before the ’Hawks assumed a 33-26 lead.
Gravette finally got a score underneath but it was answered by Davis’ three straight accurate 3-pointers to put the ’Hawks up by 8. The Lions scored again underneath as did Rose as the half expired with the ’Hawks on top 38-30.
Field goals by Hall and Tillman along with a free throw by Pitts kept the Lions at arm’s length as they scored three times in the paint. Hall then sank a 7-footer followed by a lay-up 30 seconds later to give Pea Ridge a double digit lead, 47-36.
The Lions then scored two straight from the field with DeLeon hitting a jump shot as Pea Ridge led 49-40 with 3:00 left in the quarter. A Rose rebound shot followed by a Pitts lay-in gave the ’Hawks their biggest lead of the game at 53-40.
However, the turnover bug that plagued the ’Hawks in the first quarter and a half, returned as they would have a string (nine) of them over the next 5 minutes that served to help keep Gravette in the game. The miscues kept the ’Hawks off the scoreboard while the Lions were draining a pair of free throws and a lay-up to shrink the lead to 53-44 at the end of the quarter.
Tillman opened the last quarter with a field goal which was quickly answered by the home team.
Tight ’Hawk defense resulted in a pair of steals with Hall scoring on a lay-up then a pair of free throwswhen he was fouled on the breakaway as Pea Ridge again led by 13.
The Lions cut it back to a 10-point deficit with two scores underneath as opposed to a single free throw by Rose as Pea Ridge led 60-50 with a little over 5 minutes left in the game.
Pitts then scored on a rebound shot but the Lions got a huge 3-pointer and two free throws to cut the ’Hawk lead back to eight at 62-54.
Hall then put a big hole in the Lion comeback with a trey which was followed by a Pitts lay-up to put the ’Hawks back up by 13, 67-54. Gravette would not fold, however, as they then scored two lay-ups and a trey to offset DeLeon’s layup as the hosts were back to within 8 with 2 minutes left.
Clark called a time-out, instructing the ’Hawks to burn the clock. The strategy worked as the Lions were forced to foul to get the ball but the ’Hawks were up to the challenge with Rose sinking a pair ofshots while DeLeon was accurate on all four of his chances. The charity shooting put the game away, with the ’Hawks leading by the widest margin of the game 75-61. A rebound shot by the Lions in the waning seconds was the last score of the game.
Blackhawks 55/41 Wolves
In the Lincoln game, the first quarter was a track meet as both teams raced up and down the floor putting up shots. Five ’Hawks scored in the frame with Hall sinking three field goals and three free throws. DeLeon and Pitts both scored from the field with Tillman adding a 3-pointeras Pea Ridge led at the buzzer 20-18.
After a time-out, the ’Hawks shut out the Wolves’ leading scorer and held Lincoln to just 5 points in the period. The ’Hawks got treys from Hall and Tillman with Hall adding a field goal and Rose a free throw as Pea Ridge led at intermission 32-23.
Reserves were used liberally by coach Clark in the game’s final minutes and the ’Hawks had only a layup by Hall for the rest of the way.
The ’Hawks played Gentry Tuesday, will play Bentonville at home Thursday, then will be off until the Southwest Classic next week in Washburn, Mo.
Sports, Pages 8 on 12/19/2012