Blackhawk boys on a roll, face Huntsville

Coach Trent Lloyd's hardwood 'Hawks are on a roll, winning seven straight contests since mid-December, including the championship of the Southwest Holiday Tournament.

With nearly all their early games involved battling large school opponents, the 'Hawks came out of the gate with a 4-7 mark. Included in that was an upset loss to Gentry to open the conference season. From there, the cagers took league wins over Lincoln, Gravette and Prairie Grove, with a non-conference conquest of Eureka Springs to go with the three wins earned in tournament play to raise their mark to 11-7.

The 'Hawks were on the road last night at Berryville and they have a huge contest coming up Friday against the Huntsville Eagles this Friday. At last report, the Eagles were undefeated at 15-0 and were ranked second in the state in Class 4A.

Huntsville dropped down from the 5A classification where they have been for four years and they have always boasted a potent basketball program. Both girls' and boys' programs have many state championship trophies in display in their trophy case and they are considered the team to beat in 2015. The Eagles recently won a narrow decision over Prairie Grove in much the same manner as the 'Hawks did to the Tigers last week.

In the most recent MaxPreps/CBS 4A state basketball poll, Pea Ridge had climbed to the 16th spot in the rankings. The next nearest team in Prairie Grove at 26th with the rest of the 4A schools in the bottom half of the state.

Current rankings are:

MaxPreps/ CBS Basketball poll

4A classification

1. Monticello

2. Huntsville

3. West Helena

4. Pocahontas

5. Riverview

6. Jonesboro Westside

7. Brookland

8. Arkansas Baptist

9. Bauxite

10. Central Arkansas

16. Pea Ridge

26. Prairie Grove

34. Gentry

35. Shiloh

38. Gravette

44. Lincoln

47. Berryville

Late game summaries

Pea Ridge 38/Prairie Grove 36

It was like deja-vu all over again as the 'Hawks bested the Tigers ay a 38-36 count, the same score Pea Ridge defeated Prairie Grove last season.

Pea Ridge got ahead 9-5 in the first quarter on the strength of a trey and bucket by Westin Church and field goals by Nick Hardy and Tristan Trundle. The Tigers came back by outscoring the 'Hawks 13-7 in the second period to go into the half with a 18-16 edge. Zach Davis accounted for all the offense with a trey and two field goals.

The Tigers increased their advantage by a point as the 'Hawks trailed 30-27 headed into the final period. Pea Ridge got only three goals in the period, all 2 pointers by Davis, Trundle and Joey Hall with Britton Caudill canning three of four free throws to keep the 'Hawks in the game.

The Blackhawks turned up the defensive heat in the final quarter, holding the Tigers to just 6 points as they in turn scored 11 earn the victory. Caudill pumped in three field goals, with his final score coming in the final seconds to break a 36-36 tie. Church scored a pair of free throws with Davis dropped in a trey in the comeback win.

Pea Ridge 66/Gravette 36

The game was over from almost the beginning as the 'Hawks shooting from outside the arc dooming any victory hopes by the Lions. In fact, the 'Hawks' 12 treys scored as many points as the Lions did from all sources in the game.

Church was on fire in the first period, dropping in three treys along with a field goal to spark the charge. Hall also scored a 3-pointer along with a pair of free throws with Davis matching hall with a trey and field goal. Trundle rounded out the scoring with a field goal as the 'Hawks led 23-8 at the buzzer.

The 'Hawks cooled off some in the second, except for Caudill as he dropped through four field goals to keep the pressure on the Lions. Lancy Buttry scored on a pair of goals with Church adding another goal to help Pea Ridge to a 38-17 lead at the half.

The third quarter was a near replay of the first as the 'Hawks poured in five treys to go with three field goals to build a 60-25 lead going into the final period. Church, Hardy, Davis and Hall all hit from downtown with Hall doing it twice. Field goals from Trundle, Church and Davis helped in the onslaught.

Reserves dominated play in the last eight minutes, with Logan Johnson and Jake Edwards coming up with 3-pointers to finish out the 'Hawks scoring.

Pea Ridge 63/Eureka Springs 47

The hardwood 'Hawks broke open a close game in the third quarter to post a double digit win over the Highlanders.

Both teams were lighting it up in the first period, with the 'Hawks ending the quarter with a slight 18-17 lead. Six points scored by both Davis and Sheppard led the charge with Caudill adding a pair of goals and Church a solo shot.

Three-point shooting padded the 'Hawk lead with hall sinking to of the distance shots with Caudill and Davis coming up with one each of their own. Sheppard added a goal and free throw with Davis also adding a field goal as the visiting 'Hawks led 34-28 at intermission.

Davis ripped through 7 points in the third quarter to help Pea Ridge to a 13-point lead by quarter's end. Trundle scored on a pair goals with Sheppard and Caudill adding solo shots to put Pea Ridge up 49-36.

Hall and Caudill connected for 3-pointers in the final period to quash any hope of a Highlander comeback. Hall and Caudill also added a field goal to their total as did Davis, Sheppard, Buttry and Beckman as balanced scoring kept the hosts at bay.

Pea Ridge 62/Blue Eye 44

Pea Ridge fell behind the top-ranked Blue Eye Bulldogs in the first period, but strong second- and third-quarter shooting and a blow out fourth period fueled the upset in the semi-finals of the Southwest Holiday tournament.

The 'Hawks got three treys from Davis, but three single goals by the other 'Hawk shooters wasn't quite enough as Blue Eye led 14-12 after one. Hall tossed in a pair of treys in the second period with Davis, Sheppard and Trundle adding goals to give the fourth-seeded 'Hawks a 25-21 lead at the half.

Pea Ridge doubled their lead in the third with a trey by Davis, two goals by Trundle and a solo shot by Sheppard. Outscoring their foes 15-11 in the time frame, the 'Hawks then held a solid 40-32 lead headed into the last quarter.

The 'Hawks exploded for 22 points in the last quarter fueled by 3-pointers by Hall, Davis and Trundle and good free throw shooting by Davis and Sheppard. The Bulldogs never made a run as Pea Ridge won going away.

Pea Ridge 70/Cassville 27

Holding Cassville to single digit scoring until the last period, the 'Hawks enjoyed one of their easiest wins in recent memory.

Davis scored 4, Trundle 3, and Sheppard, Hall and Beckmann 2 each as the 'Hawks took a 13-5 lead after one quarter. Davis hit a couple of treys in the second period to go with one by Hall, a pair of goals by Trundle, and a Sheppard free throw to inflate the lead to 27-12 at intermission.

The game was over in the third quarter as the 'Hawks exploded for 23 points while holding the Wildcats to a paltry 5 as the game was on ice with Pea Ridge leading going into the 4th period. Davis, Sheppard and Church all hit 3-pointers. Trundle and Davis added a pair of field goals; Buttry and and Sheppard also added field goals in the third quarter explosion.

Pea Ridge would have their best one quarter 3-point shooting in the final period, pouring through seven treys, two by Hall, Davis, Sheppard, Cole Wright, Logan Johnson and Jake Edwards were six different 'Hawks who connected from behind the arc. Dylan Roughton scored the only regular field goal by Pea Ridge.

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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].

Sports on 01/14/2015