From Staff Reports
The Blackhawks broke open a close game with seven points on its first two possessions of the second half and Westin Church scored 17 points as the Blackhawks defeated Decatur 60-38 in the first round of the Battle at the Ridge Tournament Thursday night.
Pea Ridge led 25-17 at halftime but the Blackhawks scored 24 points in the third quarter and had a 19-point lead going to the fourth quarter. Weston Church scored eights points in the third quarter. Britton Caudill was also in double figures for Pea Ridge (4-1) with 11 points.
"Every game, these guys are getting better," Blackhawk coach Trent Loyd said. "We came out and played much better in the second half. We came out with some energy in the second half. We got tipped balls that we were not getting in the first half."
Church opened the second half scoring with a layup and after missing the free throw on the play the junior grabbed his own rebound for another layup for a 29-17 lead. Joey Hall then followed with a 3-point play and the Blackhawks would go on to make seven of their first nine shots from the field in the third for a 40-25 lead with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
Pea Ridge then used back-to-back 3-pointers by Hall and Cole Wright and a stickback at the buzzer by Church for a commanding 49-30 lead going to the final quarter.
"Pea Ridge ate us up with that press for about two minutes in the third quarter and we could never get that back," said Decatur coach John Unger. "They also hit shots and attacked the basket. We just didn't have an answer for them."
Pea Ridge led 15-12 early in the second quarter but the Blackhawks came up with three steals on Decatur inbound attempts during an 8-0 run for a 23-12 lead 3 minutes, 44 seconds before halftime. Decatur had eight turnovers in the second quarter as Pea Ridge had eight second-chance points while leading 25-17 at halftime.
Decatur sophomore Taylor Haisman hit five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for the Bulldogs.
"Taylor is a great shooter," Unger said. "He is our leading scorer and he will continue to improve."
Blackhawks 55, North Pulaski 39
Westin Church led a balanced Pea Ridge scoring attack with 10 points as the Blackhawks defeated North Pulaski in a semifinal game Friday. Eight different Pea Ridge players found the scoring column.
The Blackhawks (5-1) led 27-13 at halftime and 40-16 going to the fourth quarter.
Sports on 12/16/2015