WASHBURN, Mo. — The ’Hawks slipped by the Cassville Wildcats 49-47, upset secondseeded Hollister 78-63 in the semi-finals, then fell to Missouri’s top-ranked Billings Wildcats 64-57 in the championship finals of the Southwest Holiday Classic Basketball Tournament in Washburn recently.
In the opener, Pea Ridge had to overcome a dismal third quarter to come from behind to whip Cassville by 2.
The ’Hawks took control early in the game, outscoring the Wildcats 13-10 in the first quarter. Four ’Hawks shared the scoring led by Jacob Hall’s trey, field goal and free throw. Levi Pitts, Nick DeLeon and Evan Tillman all contributed solo field goals, with Tillman also adding a free throw.
The second quarter saw the Blackhawks widen their lead, outscoring Cassville 13-9 to take a 26-19 lead at intermission, Hall ripped two 3-pointers with Zach Davis adding a trey, along withPitts coming up with a goal and two charity tosses.
The third quarter saw Cassville ram through eight buckets and a free throw while holding Pea Ridge to just 8 as the ’Cats raced out to a 36-34 lead by the end of the period. The ’Hawks had just a pair of goals by Pitts, a solo shot by Tillman and a pair of free shots by Isaac Mangrum to add to their point total.
The shots from downtown loomed large in the last quarter with Pitts, Hall and Davis all connecting from behind the arc to spur the comeback.
Additional field goals by Pitts and Tillman, with Tillman and DeLeon also converting free throws, were enough to outscore the Wildcats 15-11 by game’s end to take the victory.
Pitts and Hall shared game scoring honors as they eachcanned 15. Tillman added 8, Davis 6, DeLeon 3 and Mangrum 2.
In the semi-final game, favored Hollister held the Blackhawks to just 10 points in the opening period to go ahead by 4, 14-10 at the outset. Treys by Hall and Tillman, along with field goals by Hall and Pitts, fueled the attack.
The ’Hawks got it together the second quarter, exploding for 21 points while holding the Tigers to just 9 as they went up 31-23 at the half. Leading the charge was Davis as the sophomore sharpshooter rattled home three treys. Pitts added a trey, field goal and two free throws, with Tillman’s three and Hall’s two free throws adding to the surge.
While Hollister’s offense came back to life in the third quarter, they couldn’t restrain the ’Hawks as Pea Ridge outscored them 20-17 to go ahead 51-40 headed into the last period. Six different Blackhawks racked up scores in the quarter with Hall scoring 4, Mangrum 4, Davis 3, Pitts 3, DeLeon 2 and Rose 2.
The fourth quarter turned out to be the offensive quarter of the year as the two teams combined for 50 points all told, with the ’Hawks accounting for 27 of them. Hall tossed in 11 points on three buckets, a trey and two free throws. Pitts added 10 with five free throws, a trey and field goal, Mangrum hit one from the paint, and Tillman and DeLeon added free throws as the ’Hawks held the Tigers at bay for the victory.
Hall was the top scorer with 24 with Pitts close behind with 22 markers. Davis chipped in with 12, Tillman 7, DeLeon 4 and Logan Rose 3.
In the championship battle, top-seeded Billings jumped out to an early lead then battled the Blackhawks on equal terms for the final three quarters to preserve their top billing. The Wildcats outraced the ’Hawks 21-13 in the early going for enough advantage to keep the ’Hawks at bay for the rest of the night. Hall led the first quarter offense with a trey, field goal and three free throws. Tillman threw in a trey with DeLeon adding a jump shot.
The ’Hawks actually outscored the ’Cats 17-15 in the second period to shave the lead to 36-30 by intermission. Pitts provided most of the offense with a pair of goals and free throws while Hall added 5 with three free throws and a field goal.
Mangrum scored twice underneath with Rose adding a goal from the same place.
Both defenses tightened up in the third period with the Wildcats outscoring Pea Ridge 12-11 to nudge a bit further ahead. Hall found his long ball touch with a trey and a pair of field goals for 7 points with Mangrum and De-Leon adding solo field goals.
The fourth quarter saw the two heavyweight teams battle it out blow for blow with each team scoring 16, allowing Billings to hang on for the win.
Hall nailed a pair of treys with Mangrum adding two goals to lead the ’Hawks. DeLeon added a goal as did Pitts who also sank a free throw. Davis also scored with a single free throw.
Hall had his best offensive night of the tournament with 26 points with Mangrum scoring 10, Pitts, 9. DeLeon 6, Tillman 3, Rose 2 and Davis 1.
Sports, Pages 7 on 01/09/2013