The Blackhawk boys varsity basketball team gave second-year head coach Trent Lloyd his first championship while earning the school's sixth Southwest Holiday Tournament since 2005 by besting host Southwest 53-49 last week in Washburn, Mo.
"This was a total team effort," coach Lloyd said. "Southwest was tough and we had to just grind it out to win. We used a lot of players to fight off the runs Southwest threw at us. The boys had to overcome some adversity and they came together to get it done."
The 'Hawks' Blake Shepherd was named the tournament's most valuable player, with Joey Hall and Zach Davis joining Shepherd as members of the All-Tournament Team.
Though the game was a nail-biter throughout the second half, the 'Hawks looked like they were going to blow it open in the first quarter, running out to a 15-3 lead. A Blake Shepherd steal and subsequent layup netted a 2-0 lead to start the game with Zach Davis and Tristan Trundle adding jump shots soon after to give Pea Ridge a 6-0 advantage.
Southwest finally scored a free throw to get on the board, and after a 'Hawk score was waived off by a foul, the hosts hit a layup to cut the lead to 6-3. Joey Hall then scored on a layup with Davis canning a trey to shoot the lead to 11-3. Hall converted a pair of free throws with Davis coming up with a steal to feed Nick Hardy for a driving layup and a 15-3 bulge with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter.
Davis scored on a layup right before the quarter's end, but the Trojans ripped four of four free throws to go with a layup off a steal to keep the score respectable as Pea Ridge led 17-9 going into the second period.
Southwest scored the first 4 points of the quarter on a trey and a free throw to get back into the game, trailing 17-13. Hardy and Church dropped in layups to regain an 8-point lead, which the hosts quickly erased on a layup and a pair of 3-point shots as the teams were deadlocked at 21-21 with 3:10 left in the half. Davis hit a 3-pointer but the Trojans answered to keep the score tied. A score by Britton Caudle in the paint sent the 'Hawks into intermission with the score at 26-24.
Shepherd scored a couple of layups in the third quarter's early going but Southwest rallied with a trey, free throw, layup and two jump shots to pump through 10 points to assume a 34-30 lead. After a time out, the 'Hawks turned up the heat with five different players scoring a total of 9 straight points to retake the lead at 39-34. Hardy started the run with a put back basket followed by a layup by Davis. Shepherd dropped in a free throw with Caudle and Hall scoring in the paint. Hardy nailed a free throw with eight seconds left in the period to partially offset a Southwest layup as the 'Hawks carried a 40-36 lead into the final period.
The hosts tightened things up with a layup off a steal and a 3-pointer to get to within 1 point, trailing Pea Ridge 42-41 with 6:26 left in the game. Caudle and Hardy scored on successive layups to get some breathing room with a 46-41 advantage.
Hardy swished a pair of charity tosses to counter a jump shot by Southwest but a 3-point shot by the hosts shrank the 'Hawk lead to 48-46 with 2:00 left in the game. The trey shot by Southwest proved to be the last field goal of the game for both teams.
Caudle scored a pair of free shots with Hardy making one with the Trojans matching the effort to stay within 2 points with Pea Ridge still ahead by 2, 51-49 with less than a minute left in the game.
The defensive plays of the game were turned in by Trundle after the 'Hawks misfired on a field goal attempt, giving Southwest a chance to score to tie it. Trundle tied up the Trojan ball handler, with the jump ball going to Southwest on the sideline. After Southwest got the ball back in, Trundle astonished the home crowd as he repeated the play, tying up the ball handler again. With the possession arrow now in their favor, the ball went back over to the 'Hawks with just seconds left in the game.
The 'Hawks went into a delay game, forcing the Trojans to foul which they did with seven seconds left in the game. Davis stepped up to sink both shots to ice the game at 53-49.
"We found a way to finish when we had to," an obviously pleased coach Lloyd remarked. "Our 3-point shots weren't falling tonight but we hustled, played good defense and I feel like we are ready to get into the conference schedule."
Southwest out shot the 'Hawks from the 3-point line 7-2 for a 15-point edge in that department but it wasn't enough to offset the strong defensive and rebounding efforts by Pea Ridge. Pea Ridge had nine turnovers in the contest while Southwest suffered 17.
To get to the finals, Pea Ridge destroyed Cassville in the first round, then upset top-seeded Blue Eye by double digits in semi-final action. Southwest upset second seeded Gentry in the semi-finals to earn their finals spot.
Sports on 01/07/2015