Gravette splits games with Pea Ridge on Friday

GRAVETTE -- "It's games like this that prepare you for the games down the road," opined head boys basketball coach Trent Loyd, "The boys played with a lot of heart in a loud and hostile environment and came away with an important win"

The Gravette gym was awash with orange, but a spirited game by the Lions to go with a very vocal fan base was not enough to turn back the Blackhawks as Pea Ridge won the battle of the conference unbeatens. The 'Hawks zoomed ahead 27-11 by intermission then held off repeated comeback attempts by the hosts to post a 51-40 victory.

The 'Hawks utilized an incredibly balanced offense with the starting five players each scoring roughly 20 percent of the final score. Cole Wright and Joey Hall led the Pea Ridge scoring with 11 each, with Britton Caudill getting 10, and Matt Thomas 9. Westin Church scored the other 2 points.

The Lions made a concerted effort to thwart the 'Hawks' potent 3-point offense in the first quarter, but Pea Ridge used two layups by Thomas and one by Caudill to soften the perimeter, where Hall, Rose and Wright subsequently ripped treys to give the 'Hawks a healthy 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Every starter scored in the first quarter, another testament to the scoring balance the 'Hawks brought to bear.

The Lions' Dayten Wishon, who would wind up scoring half of the Lions' 40 points, led the hosts. He scored the first 5 points for Gravette with Trembley adding a layup in the opening quarter.

Trembley brought the crowd to its' feet with a deep 3-pointer to start the second period, but the 'Hawks rattled off 12 straight points to take command. Caudill worked in for a layup to start the rally with Church laying another one in a couple of minutes later for a 19-10 lead. Caudill then rolled in another bucket which was followed soon after by a free throw by Thomas who was fouled attempting a layup. Another layup by Thomas was followed by a trey from Wright as the 'Hawks led 27-10 with 50 second left in the half. The Lions then ended their nearly 8 minute scoring drought with a free throw made after the buzzer had ended the half with the score left at 27-11.

It seemed the Lions changed their strategy at the half with the hosts resorting to fouling the 'Hawks on nearly every good shot attempt. The ploy was partially successful as the Blackhawks would go on to score but two field goals in the entire second half, but Pea Ridge would get to shoot 28 times from the free throw line, sinking 19 of them to keep the Lions at bay.

Hall started the third quarter by making four of four free throws and with Rose's second trey, they more than offset Wishon's 2 points as Pea Ridge threatened to blow the game up, leading 34-13 with 5:05 left in the third period. Wishon then scored a free throw, layup and 3-pointer to rally the Lions to close the gap to 37-23 going into the fourth quarter. Trembley added a layup and 10-footer to help in Gravette's slight comeback. Hall ripped a charity toss with Wright going two for two from the line for the 'Hawks' cause.

Wishon scored on a rebound to cut the deficit to 12 for the Lions, but Caudill scored underneath with Hall and Thomas throwing in a pair of freebies each as the Lions faint hope was dashed with the 'Hawks zooming out to a 18-point lead with with just 5 minutes left in the game.

After a 30-second lull, the Lions scored three buckets in rapid succession by Wishon, Tremply and Childress to get the 'Hawks' lead back down to 12. Hall then drained a free throw with Wright hitting three of four to push the lead back out to 15 at 46-31 with just 1:51 to go. Wishon then scored on a layup and rebound to cut the lead to 13, but lone free throws by Thomas and Wright set the lead back to 15. Gravette's Trembley and Childress scored in the last few seconds but the game had been decided by then with the clock showing the 'Hawks ahead 51-40 at the final buzzer.

Pea Ridge improved their conference mark to 11-0 and their overall record to 18-1. Gravette fell out of a tie for the conference lead with a new record of 10-1, while their season's standard dipped to 14-4.

Blackhawk Coach Loyd lauded the play of Wright who led the offense in scoring to go with another sterling outing on defense.

"We are 18-1 and we would not be there without Cole. He has a great basketball IQ, and his defensive leadership gives us a chance to be successful. Everyone has heard the old saying that offense wins games but defense wins championships. That's never been more true than here in Pea Ridge."

The Blackhawks played the 5-10 Greenland Pirates last night and are playing rival Shiloh at home this Friday. The private school boys are 6-6 in conference play and 10-9 overall. The following Monday will be the rematch with Gravette at the Pea Ridge gym with the varsity boys game to follow the girls battle.