Blackhawks extend winning streak to 15; hammer Bobcats 62-48

The boys varsity Blackhawk basketball team beat back a determined Berryville squad and cruised to a 62-48 victory in the annual Colors Day Game.

"It was a tough game," head coach Trent Lloyd said, "and we had to play a very physical defense. We got behind early but made the adjustments we needed to to take control."

"Losing that first conference game was tough to take, but we have won them all since though there have been quite a few battles. The boys are playing well together and they are succeeding as a team," Lloyd said.

The game's leading scorer Joey Hall (22) said: "We played great defense and a lot of that is due to our great depth. We don't turn the ball over much and we have proven good at making comebacks."

Hall gave the 'Hawks their first lead when he tossed in a 3-pointer for a 3-0 lead, then shot through another after a Bobcat lay-up for a 6-2 lead with 6:40 left in the first. Zach Davis then stole the inbounds pass after Hall's trey and was fouled driving for a lay-up. The senior guard made both shots for an 8-2 bulge.

The 'Hawks were then whistled for a combinations of fouls and a bad pass as Berryville made a 10-point run using three shots in the paint, a trey and free throw to jump ahead 12-8. Hall then hit another 3 to close the gap to 12-11 but a final shot by the 'Cats set the score at 14-11 at the buzzer.

Britton Caudill started the second period with a lay-up which was matched by the 'Cats but a trey by Hall with 6:06 left in the half knotted the score at 16-16. Berryville briefly retook the lead on a 3-pointer but Blake Sheppard fired one in seconds later as the 'Hawks retied the score at 19-19. After a Bobcat turnover, Bryce Beckmann scored on an acrobatic lay-up, getting fouled in the process. The junior forward sank the extra shot for a 22-19 lead mid-way in the second quarter. After another turnover by the 'Cats, Beckmann scored on another lay-up for a 24-19 lead, then Beckmann grabbed an offensive rebound and fed Caudill underneath for still another score which left the 'Hawks firmly ahead 26-19 with 3:40 left in the half.

Berryville broke their drought with a free thrown but Hall countered with two more. Seconds later Caudill came up with a steal and made a sterling pass to Westin Church who dropped in a lay-up and a 30-20 lead with two minutes left in the half.

Berryville struck for a trey but, again, Pea Ridge quickly answer with Nick Hardy dropping in one of his own, Hall made a steal with under a minute left and scored on a lay-up to set the half-time score at 35-23 in the 'Hawks' favor.

The 'Cats scored first in the third period but Sheppard scored on a lay-up and free throw to extend the lead to 38-25. From this point for the rest of the quarter, the referee's whistle became quite active, with a number of questionable calls in play.

On five of the next six Bobcat possessions where the 'Cats didn't lose the ball, referees called fouls on 'Hawk defenders. The 'Cats sandwiched 10 free throws around a lay-up to pare the 'Hawk lead down to 9 points, trailing just 44-35 with 0:37 left in the half. A lay-up and a pair of free throws by Hall and a Caudill lay-up assisted by Beckmann blunted some of Berryville's momentum.

With just 7 seconds left in the half, Lance Buttry led Caudill with a great pass to gain another score on a lay-up but a last second desperation shot from downtown by the 'Cats went in to cut the lead to single digits with Pea Ridge leading 46-38 going into the final quarter.

Sheppard scored a lay-up off a Bobcat turnover to open the final period and Church passed to Davis for another score moments later to inflate the lead to 50-38. After a Berryville lay-up, Church ripped a trey and then a 7-footer to threaten to turn the game into a rout with the 'Hawks leading 55-40 with 5:40 left in the game.

Church got another bucket which was matched by the visitors. Referee calls then sent the 'Cats to the free throw line four times and they made they all to give Berryville a faint hope of a comeback trailing by 11 with 3:12 left. The 'Cats then made it even closer with a 5-footer at the 2:27 mark to get the lead under 10 at 57-48.

The 'Hawks then stiffened their defense even further and shut the guests out the rest of the way. Hardy sank a free throw, Caudill dropped in another lay-up, with Hall scoring the final 2 points on a pair of charity shots.

Near the final minute mark, the 'Hawks guard Hardy was gang rushed by most of the Bobcats on the field, but Hardy not only avoided allowing them to foul him, two of the defenders wound up crashing onto the floor in their attempts to do so.

After the game, senior Dylan Roughton said: "We came in ready to play. We were fired up, and even when we had some problems. we made the adjustments we needed to to win the game. Losing that first conference game to Gentry really shook us but we responded -- 15 wins in a row since!"

Hall led all scorers with 22, followed by Caudill with 10, Church 9, Sheppard 8, Beckmann 5, Hardy 4 and Davis 4.

The 'Hawks had a huge game last night at Huntsville. The two teams have already secured semi-final district berths as well as slots in the North Regional but last night was the game to settle who will win the district championship. Tied at 11-1 apiece, the winner went a game up with one game to go.

The 'Hawks will finish their home schedule as well as their regular season slate of games with a contest with Shiloh this Friday. The 'Hawks defeated their private school rival in their previous battle in a closely fought game at Shiloh. Shiloh is battling for a fourth seed in the district tourney while the 'Hawks will be hoping to put the finishing touches on a championship season should they have won Tuesday.

The district tournament will start next week at Shiloh.