WEST FORK -- The Pea Ridge boys Blackhawks built a defensive wall around their basket to help them capture their first ever 4A Regional Championship at West Fork last week.
The 'Hawks cruised by West Fork in the opening round 62-34, blew past Subiaco 61-48 in the semifinals before crushing rival Huntsville 54-37 in the final. The win earned Pea Ridge its first Region title and it's first No. 1 seed in a state tournament, giving them a first round bye into the quarterfinals.
Boys
Championship
Pea Ridge^9^11^16^18^—^54
Huntsville^9^2^9^17^—^37
Pea Ridge (30-2): Thomas 21, Church 15, Hall 13, Rose 5
Huntsville (28-4): Eaton 13, Yarbrough 9, Pemberton 4, Scott 4, Siegrist 4, Bohannon 3
With the loss of the Blackhawk's outstanding center Britton Caudill, most sports observers rated the championship game to be a toss-up, but the 'Hawks turned a close first quarter game into a blowout by the fourth quarter.
The first quarter showed some parity with each team answering the others scoring throughout the period. Huntsville scored first but was answered by Matt Thomas for a 2-2 score. After the Eagles regained the lead, a Thomas layup tied it again at 4-4. The Eagles then got a trey to fall, to extend the lead to 7-4 before Westin Church's shot in the paint closed the gap to 7-6. Another Huntsville bucket reopened the gap to 3 at 9-6, but right before the buzzer their worst fears came to light.
Their 3-point lead evaporated into the evening when Joey Hall drained a deep 3 just before the buzzer to send the game into the second quarter tied at 9-9. Hall would go on to sink another trey to start the second period, and the Eagles would not lead again. The 'Hawks would go on to outscore the Eagles 11-2 in the second quarter to grab an imposing 20-11 halftime advantage.
The 9-point lead at the half would balloon to 36-20 after three quarters, and the lead would grow to 26 points at 54-28 late in the fourth quarter to end any suspense that the fans may have had.
The 'Hawks scored the first 5 points of the third quarter before Huntsville could answer. After the Eagles scored a bucket and free throw, Cole Wright dished off to Church for an easy bucket with Church answering a Huntsville trey to keep Pea Ridge ahead by 11 at 31-18.
The Eagles hit a pair of free throws but that was answered right back when Hall did the same. With the clock running down, Church replicated Hall's last second heroics by draining his own trey just before the buzzer, sending Pea Ridge into the final quarter with a 16-point lead.
Hall opened the final period with a 3-pointer, and while the Eagles came back with five free throws and a trey, Thomas went on a tear, scoring 15 points on six straight baskets. When Thomas finally went to the bench with a little over 2 minutes left, Pea Ridge had all but clinched the game with a 28-point lead. While Huntsville scored 9 points in a last minute flurry, it would not deter the 'Hawks being crowned the best team in northwest and west central Arkansas.
Pea Ridge 61, Subiaco 48
The 'Hawks jumped out in front of Subiaco with Joey Hall canning a lay up, Matt Thomas sinking a pair of free throws, and Kobe Rose throwing in a trey to stake the 'Hawks t a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Wright hit a jump shot with Hall dropping one in from downtown to match the trey and bucket rang up by Subiacos' Janga and Taylor as the Hawks led after one, 12-7.
Subiaco started the second stanza with a trey but Hall nailed two deep shots with Church adding one of his own with Hall converting a pair of free throws. Thomas also added a score from underneath as Pea Ridge led 23-11 with a little over two minutes left in the half. Subiaco had a mini-rally with two field goals sandwiched around a 'Hawk turnover, but a Hall free throw in the waning moments sent Pea Ridge ahead 25-15 at the half.
Huntsville scored first in the third, then traded treys with Hall to slightly shrink the lead to 8 at the 5:30 mark, 28-20. Thomas scored a bucket and free throw to increase the lead to 11, but Subiaco would score 9 points with only a Church field and free throw to show for Blackhawk offense as Subiaco was back into the game trailing only 34-29. Hall would connect on an old-fashioned 3-pointer , but Subiaco countered with a pair of field goals to shrink the lead further., trailing by just 4 at 37-33. Hall would hit another trey but Subiaco matched it as Pea Ridge held on to a slim 40-36 headed into the fourth quarter.
Subiaco's Taylor tried to make a game of it, scoring his team's first three field goals to get to within just 2 points at 45-43 while Thomas and Hall scored a combined 5 points. Wright and Thomas teamed up to score 8 straight points to get Pea Ridge back up to a 10-point lead at 53-43. A subsequent 3-point play gave Subiaco a flicker of hope until Thomas and Hall teamed up again to score 8 points to take a 59-46 lead. The 'Hawks got two shots from Thomas at the free throw line to close out the scoring.
Pea Ridge 62, West Fork 34
The 'Hawks pulled off their greatest feat of their season as they held the regional foe West Fork scoreless, shutting them out in the first quarter as they cruised to an 18-0 lead and were never threatened.
The second period was far more active as the West Fork rallied for 13 points. The 'Hawks matched that and added one point, scoring 14. The Tigers changed their defensive stance in the period, fouling much more often. The defensive ploy didn't work as the 'Hawks' Hall, Thomas, Kobe Rose and Hayden Holtgrewe ripped 10 of 11 free throws to go with a pair of field goals by Holtgrewe. The flurry lifted the 'Hawks to a 32-13 lead at the break.
Pea Ridge matched their production of the first period after intermission largely depending on free throws as in the second. The 'Hawks would sink 10 of 12 and then get field goals from Holtgrewe, Thomas and Church as they went on to double up West Fork 50-25 by the end of the third period.
West Fork hit a trey to lead the fourth quarter, but successive scores by Cole Wright, Rose, Westin Church and Thomas ended the suspense as the 'Hawks shot ahead 57-28, nearly a mercy ruling. Subiaco managed 3 more points, but when Church dropped in a free throw and bucket, stole the ball and sent Thomas for a driving layup, the 'Hawks finally achieved the mercy lead at 62-32. The clock then quickly ran out as West Fork managed to get the game's last two scores via the charity stripe.
Sports on 03/01/2017