FARMINGTON -- The way Pea Ridge shot the basketball for most of the game, it might have seemed to Farmington fans the Blackhawks were never going to miss.
But at just the wrong time, at least for Pea Ridge, things turned cold in the fourth quarter.
After hitting five of their first eight 3-point attempts in the second half, Pea Ridge missed four straight from behind the 3-point line giving Farmington the opportunity it needed. The Cardinals seized the chance and pulled out a 60-54 win Tuesday, Feb. 11, at Meryl Massie Gymnasium.
"I thought we came out and shot the ball well and executed real well," Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd said. "The second half we had a couple of shots not fall that we needed to stay within striking distance.
"But we gave up 10 offensive rebounds tonight, and I think that was the story for us. We've got to have a game in the high 40s and low 50s, and not in the 60s."
Pea Ridge (13-12, 8-5 4A-1) built a 9-point lead in the second quarter before Farmington reeled the Blackhawks in with an 8-0 run to close out the half. The third quarter was then a back-and-forth shooting display, as the teams combined to hit seven of 10 3-points in the frame.
"I thought they outworked us most of the first half and when we finally woke up, we got ourselves back in it," Farmington coach Beau Thompson said. "Give them credit, they made 12 three-pointers and we had to switch defenses on them a few times. But (Jeremy) Mueller hit some shots to loosen them up in the third quarter and then (Matt) Thomas finished them off."
Pea Ridge fell behind by 6 points in the final two minutes, then rallied to within 56-54 with under one minute left. A chance to tie or take the lead went for naught, and Farmington was able to close out the game at the free throw line.
"This was one we kind of let slip out of our hands," Loyd said. "At this point, every game is big and everybody in this conference does a good job. So we've just got to keep on pushing."
Thomas finished with 18 and Skylar Barnes added 15 for Farmington. Zach Davis led Pea Ridge with 18.
With the win, the Cardinals clinched a district tournament bye and can be no worse than the No. 2 seed from the conference at the district tourney.
Girls
After a slow start offensively, Farmington used an 11-0 run to close out the first quarter and blew past Pea Ridge in a mercy-rule win on Cardinal Senior Night.
Farmington clinched at least a share of the 4A-1 Conference title.
Sports on 02/19/2014