Seven basketball teams from around the area will descend on Pea Ridge beginning Thursday as the Pea Ridge Blackhawk basketball teams enter a home-hosted tournament without eight of their own. Those eight Blackhawks are also on the Blackhawk football team which is competing for the state championship Friday night in Little Rock.
The tournament, scheduled as a boon to the Blackhawk basketball community, is sponsored by Equity Bank. It was scheduled to challenge the players and provide an opportunity for community members to watch good basketball.
Thursday, Dec. 8
4 p.m. Game 1: Bay vs. EStem
5:30 p.m. Game 2: Providence Academy vs. Carthage
7 p.m. Game 3: Pea Ridge vs. HFC Warriors
8:30 p.m. Game 4: Joe T. Robinson vs. Earle
Friday, Dec. 9
4 p.m. Game 5: Loser of Game 2 vs. Loser of Game 1
5:30 p.m. Game 6: Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4
7 p.m. Game 7: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4
8:30 p.m. Game 8: Winner of Game 2 vs. Winner of Game 1
Saturday, Dec. 10
1 p.m. Game 9 (7th place)Loser of Game 5 vs. Loser of Game 6
2:30 p.m. Game 10 (5th place) Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
4 p.m. Game 11 (3rd place) Loser of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8
5:30 p.m. Game 12 (Championship) Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
"This will benefit us as well as our community," Blackhawk basketball coach Trent Loyd said. "We wanted to get a lot of the top teams in and around our classification here. It gives us a chance to see where we're at. It's good for the community to come out and watch some good basketball."
The Battle at the Ridge Tournament begins at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8, and continues through Saturday, Dec. 10.
Teams participating are Pea Ridge Blackhawks; HFC Warriors (homeschool in Tulsa, Okla., area); Joe T. Robinson Senators from Little Rock; Earle Bulldogs (ranked No. 11 in the state by MaxPreps); Providence Academy Patriots (Rogers); Carthage, Mo., Tigers; Bay (Ark.) Yellow Jackets (ranked No. 20 by MaxPreps); and ESTEM Mets (Little Rock charter school).
Bay is the defending 1A state champ
Earle is the defending 2A state champ
Providence Academy is the defending private school state champ.
"We were fortunate enough to get really successful basketball teams to come to our tournament," Loyd said. "Bringing that winning pedigree to the tournament is only going to not only make us better, but present incredible basketball match-ups every single game. We would like to thank the community for the constant support and allowing us to host this first class tournament."
"They're really good teams," he said. "An event like this will bring money to the athletic program and to the community as well."
Sports on 12/07/2016