BERRYVILLE -- Berryville was trailing Pea Ridge by a point with just seconds remaining Friday night at Bobcat Arena, when the Bobcats' Seth Helmlinger missed a 3-pointer, but got his own rebound and found Brady Smith under the basket and Smith scored to win the game 35-34 as time expired.
"We just didn't come out with the energy and effort we needed to go out and win a road game," Blackhawk coach Trent Loyd said. "We will learn from this and move forward. Shots were not falling and we weren't able to get any momentum on our side."
"Our kids played extremely well and executed the game plan to a tee," Berryville coach Brent Compton said.
The game was back and forth throughout, as neither team led by more than 5 points. Compton said it was important that Berryville execute well on offense.
"We didn't hold the ball by any means, but we wanted to not take quick shots," Compton said. "They are a really good 3-point shooting team. We wanted to make them guard for 20 seconds or so in the halfcourt and we did that."
The Bobcats led 8-7 at the end of the first and the two teams were tied at 16 at halftime. Helmlinger had 9 points in the first half.
Pea Ridge led 25-24 going into the fourth quarter and got up by as much as 5 in the fourth. The Bobcats answered on the following possession to cut it to 3 and a Helmlinger 3 tied the game.
Britton Caudill led Pea Ridge with 14 points.
Girls
Pea Ridge 39, Berryville 53
The Berryville Lady Bobcats knew Friday night's game against Pea Ridge was important, and it showed by the way the Lady Bobcats started the game. Berryville got out to a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison said this fast start was crucial.
"We knew the significance of the game and we really stepped out on the floor in that first quarter and took care of business," Cornelison said.
The Lady Bobcats continued to control the game to halftime, as they led 30-16 at half.
"The game never got close, but we never put them away," Cornelison said. "We were about 10 to 12 points the whole time."
Berryville gave up 64 points the first time the two teams met, so he was very proud of the Lady Bobcats' defensive effort on Friday.
"We weren't happy with our defensive effort the first time we played them," Cornelison said. "We made a concerted effort to take care of our job defensively. We took away what they like to do and I was really proud of the effort they gave defensively."
Sports on 02/10/2016