The Pea Ridge Blackhawk boys employed a suffocating defense to take three victories in last week's 4A-1 District Tournament and pick up a No. 1 seed in the 4A North Regional this week.
The boys whipped Berryville 52-33 in the first round, then smothered Gravette 51-25 in the semi-finals before downing Huntsville 46-39 in the finals. The victories set up a first round regional game at West Fork Wednesday, Feb. 22, with the 'Hawks taking on the host Tigers. Remarkably, the 'Hawks held their opponents to just over 30 points per game while scoring nearly 50 per contest.
On paper, the win over Huntsville was considered an upset after Huntsville had been voted the top seed last week. The way the game started, it looked like the 'Hawks may be in for some trouble Saturday night with the Eagles gaining a 1-0 lead even before the game was started. One of the referees noticed that a 'Hawk had dunked a warm up shot, so he called a technical foul on Pea Ridge which gave Huntsville the early lead.
The Eagles should have savored their narrow lead while it lasted since it would be the only lead the favored Eagles would have for the rest of the evening.
Pea Ridge opened up their offense from the outset while deploying a sensational defense as they raced out to a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Huntsville sank no field goals in the opening period, with all seven Eagle points coming from Jack Eaton via the free throw. The referees' penchant to call fouls on any 'Hawk defending Eaton would plague Pea Ridge throughout the contest.
Huntsville finally found the range in the second quarter, dropping in a pair of treys to close the gap. The teams traded field goals for the remainder of the quarter with the 'Hawks going into intermission with a 24-19 lead.
Britton Caudill, who would go on to lead the 'Hawks with 17 points, scored the first two field goals of the third period to push the lead to 28-19. His second goal was set up beautifully by a bounce pass through the lane by Matt Thomas. When Thomas drew a swarm of defenders near the free throw line, he dished it off to Caudill for the score. Crisp passing and dogged defense by all the 'Hawks kept a lid on a Huntsville comeback.
The Eagles managed another trey to cut the lead back down to 28-22, but a layup and a rebound shot seconds later by Thomas edged the 'Hawks further out to a 32-22 lead. Huntsville answered with a 5-footer by Eaton, but a flurry of seven straight points gave the Eagles a big hole to climb out of, trailing 39-24 with 2:10 left in the third quarter. Thomas started the run with an excellent entry pass to Caudill who scored inside, adding a subsequent free throw when fouled in the attempt. Cole Wright dropped in a highlight reel layup with Caudill adding a rebound bucket in the 'Hawk runout.
While some reported that Huntsville staged a furious rally to get back int the game, the Eagles did get back into contention when the 'Hawks suddenly stopped scoring. After gaining a 15-point edge, the 'Hawks did not score again for over 6 minutes of playing time. During that time span, led by Eaton, the Eagles shot in a trey and three short jumpers to close the deficit to just 39-33.
It was the Caudill who stopped the slide with a free throw with 4:30 left. Huntsville proved to be intent of making a game of it, scoring 6 points over a 3 minute span with Thomas scoring a pair of free throws for the 'Hawks' only points. The 'Hawks went into the final minute of play nursing a 42-39 lead in a very hostile environment.
The Pea Ridge faithful came to life when Caudill broke loose for a layup with 48 seconds left to widen the gap, with Joey Hall sinking a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to all but cinch the game.
From the time the game started until the final buzzer, the 'Hawks made the Eagles work hard for every shot. A lot of time melted off the clock when the Eagles ran up against a stout defense every time they moved toward the basket. If any a game was won by the defense, this was one.
Caudill led the scoring with 17 followed by Thomas with 14, Hall 5, Wright 5, Church 3, and Holtgrewe 2. Huntsville's Eaton led all scorers with 20 but didn't get much help from his teammates.
Pea Ridge put on a remarkable defensive show throughout the competition, allowing teams just over 30 points per game while offensively scoring 50 points per contest. With Pea Ridge being very careful to take care of the ball and being extremely active on defense, the 'Hawks were able to claim Coach Trent Loyd's first district championship.
Pea Ridge 51, Gravette 25
The coach of the Gravette Lions proved he would try anything to try and whip the 'Hawks this season in the Friday night game. Unfortunately for the Lions, each gambit failed to have the desired effect as Pea Ridge downed their west county neighbors for the third time this season 51-25 in the district semi-finals.
The Lions were determined in the early going to not go outside and defend the 'Hawks. The tactic worked to a degree in the first quarter, limiting Pea Ridge to just 11 points in the first 7 minutes of the first period. The clod in Gravette's churn was that the Lions didn't score at all in the slow paced beginning.
Matt Thomas scored the first two buckets of the game for a 4-0 lead, then Joey Hall drained a 3-pointer for a 7-point lead with 6:08 left in the first. Britton scored underneath at the 4 minute mark with Thomas hitting a short jumper with 3 minutes to go. Each 'Hawk possession was met with all five Lions staying inside the arc on defense with a lot of time burned with the 'Hawks bouncing the ball in the forecourt with no pressure. With a substantial lead, the 'Hawks were content to take their time making their next move. Gravette did manage a score in the final minute to cut the lead to 11-2.
Thomas and Hall both ripped 3-pointers after a considerable amount of time passing the ball around to boost the score to 17-2. The Lions then finally got a little offense going midway through the second period, scoring from behind the arc then adding a bucket after a 'Hawk turnover. The mini-rally closed the gap to 17-7.
Time was still rolling off the clock with the Lions' patient defense, but two drives to the basket by Thomas and Hall were met by fouls. The duo sank all four shots to restore the lead to 21-7. Gravette scored again with 2 minutes left, but were content to watch the 'Hawks melt the rest of the half passing the ball with the half ending with a 21-9 'Hawk lead.
Gravette decided to pick things up in the second half, scoring quickly for a 21-11 deficit. Cole Wright, Weston Church and Hall each made a trey over the next 90 seconds to frustrate the Lions who managed to score twice inside and convert a pair of free throws. Gravette was scoring faster but fell further behind, trailing 30-15 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
Caudill then traded scores inside with the Lions, with Gravette also coming up with their second trey of the evening to get to within 32-20 with less than a minute left in the quarter. Caudill scored an old-fashioned 3-pointer with a goal and free throw with Kobe Rose scoring what proved to be the dagger to the heart of the Lions hopes with a 3-pointer with just 1 second left. Rose's trey gave the 'Hawks a near insurmountable 38-20 lead.
For the first half of the final period, the 'Hawks enjoyed a field goal and free throw by Hall along with a trey and layup by Rose while the Lions only had two free throws of offense. With 4:50 left in the game, Pea Ridge was completely in charge with a 46-22 lead.
The Lions made their last points with 4 minutes to go with a trey, but Thomas hit a pair of freebies and reserve Garrett King rang up a trey to settle the final score at 51-25.
Hall led the scoring with 14 followed by Thomas with 13, Rose 8, Caudill 7, King 3, Church 3, and Wright 3.
In the first Gravette/Pea Ridge matchup at Gravette, the 'Hawks overcame a lead and out hustled the Lions to win. At one point, the Lions fouled the 'Hawks on nearly every shot but the 'Hawks made use of their free throw opportunities to thwart their foe. The second matchup at Pea Ridge saw the 'Hawks just outrun the Lions, which led to Gravette's strategy of slowing things down.
There is a strong possibility of the 'Hawks playing Gravette for the fourth time in the regional tournament. Both teams are in the same bracket with Pea Ridge playing West Fork and Gravette battling Subiaco in the first round. Should both win, then Gravette vs Pea Ridge Part IV will take place.
Sports on 02/22/2017