'Hawks use 3s and frees to make state final

The 2017 Blackhawk basketball continues to make history, battling through illness, tough competition and spotty officiating to grab a spot in the 4A State Championship game, defeating Little Rock Robinson 64-62 in the quarterfinals before outshooting Pottsville 63-54 in the semifinals. They take on defending state champion Little Rock Baptist Prep this Friday at 7 p.m.

In semi-final action Saturday, the 'Hawks worked a patient passing game to perfection to set up deadly perimeter shooting. Forcing Pottsville to foul excessively in the latter stages of the game, the 'Hawks went on to score 51 of their 63 points from behind the arc, or from the free throw line. Kobe Rose ripped a trey to start the game with Joey Hall and Westin Church combining with Rose to add 7 more in the first half of the game.

Three-point shooting by Westin Church helped the Blackhawks offset the first two field goals by the Apaches in the early going with Pottsville never holding a lead for the rest of the game. Joey Hall nailed a pair of free throws after the Apaches knotted the score at 6-6 to regain the lead at 8-6. Hall then executed a steal and fed Matt Thomas for a layup to get ahead 10-6.

The Apaches would charge into and over 'Hawk defenders after Pea Ridge turnovers with the no calls turning into a layup and two free throws by Wesley Heikes, tying the score at 10-10. An outstanding pass from Thomas to Holtgrewe led to the final bucket of the quarter, giving the 'Hawks a 12-10 lead after one period.

Play got rougher in the opening moments of the second quarter with Thomas getting tackled on one play, with other 'Hawks getting knocked around on moves to the basket, but with whistles silent. Coach Trent Loyd then had the 'Hawks go into a pass-pass-pass attack with feints to the inside leaving shooters open on the perimeter. After several passes, Kobe Rose got an open look in the corner and mailed the trey to push the lead to 15-10. Pottsville's Porter hit a hook shot to close the gap some, but Hall tripped another 3-pointer after a flurry of passes to boost the lead to 18-12. Dunlap got in behind 'Hawk defenses for an easy lay-up, and after a 'Hawk turnover led to a Heike layup, slicing the 'Hawk lead to just 2 at 18-16 with a little over 2 minutes left in the half.

The 'Hawks' patience in passing paid off with Hall knocking down another trey for a 21-16 lead. A quick shot by Pottsville led to a defensive rebound by Thomas and after a few passes, Church was open for a trey and he delivered for a 24-16 lead. Holtgrewe set up for a charge, with the referees finally seeing it, turning the ball over to the 'Hawks. For the fifth time in a row, the passing opened up another shooter, this time Rose, as the 3-point bucket sent the 'Hawks into the locker room with a 27-16 lead.

Heikes scored first in the third quarter to shrink the lead to 27-18, and rebounded a missed Pea Ridge shot to threaten to get even closer. Thomas ruined that for the Apaches, stealing the ball and driving all the way in for a layup. Fouled on the play, Thomas ripped the free throw to give the 'Hawks a 30-18 lead. A few moments later, the 'Hawks got a defensive rebound and got down the floor, with a missed shot gathered in by Hall and put in for a 32-18 lead.

The Apaches' Dunlap hit a free throw, but it was followed by the 'Hawks eighth 3-pointer, this time by Rose, giving Pea Ridge a 35-19 lead. Hall sank a pair of free throws with Thomas adding a layup to match the Apaches' Bryce Prince and Chisum who scored in the paint. The quarter would close out with a pair of free throws by Church and Holtgrewe with Heike scoring the lone goal for Pottsville as the Apaches trailed 43-26 at the buzzer.

The Apaches' rough play finally began to draw the attention of the referees and for the last 12 minutes of the game, the 'Hawks would go to the line 26 times, hitting 22 of them to keep a lid on Pottsville. However, the 'Hawks opposition would not go down without a fight.

Reed dropped in a jumper to start the fourth quarter for Pottsville, and after Hall threw down two more free throws, two straight 'Hawk turnovers were converted into a layup by Porter and a trey by Heike to cut the lead to 12 at 45-33.

Cole Wright upped the lead with a pair of free throws, but McAllister with layup and Porter with his own pair of free throws reduced the 'Hawk lead to 10 at 47-37. Wright made another free throw, but the Apaches got a 3-pointer by Prince and then a layup after Hall was knocked down at mid-court. The flurry left Pottsville trailing by just 6, 48-42 with 5 minutes left in the game.

Fearing the 'Hawks' 3-point shooting prowess, the Apaches decided to foul rather than risk the chance, but the 'Hawks responded by hitting 11 straight free throws. Pottsville fouled Hall, Holtgrewe, Church and Thomas but none of them missed. The charity shooting pumped the lead back up to 12 at 58-46 before a rare Apache trey hit the mark. Wright's two free throws with 26 seconds finally ended Pottsville faintest hopes, and the Apache coach sent in the reserves. Pottsville scored the games last 3 points to cut the final deficit to 9 as the 'Hawks punched their ticket for the final game in Hot Springs.

The game was especially meaningful for the 'Hawks as it was Pottsville who upset them in the first round of the regional last year to keep them out of the state tournament. Senior Westin Church, who came off a sick bed to compete in the game, remarked that it was a game he had looked forward to all season.

Blackhawks 64-Robinson 62

The 'Hawks' win over Robinson was a gut wrenching battle with the Hawks holding on to a narrow advantage for most of the game before clutch free throw shooting carried the day on Thursday, March 2.

The 'Hawks came up against a surprise player who wasn't listed on the roster but who played football for the Senators, 305-pound 6'4" Elliot Harris. With the 'Hawks' center out for the year with a cracked elbow, Harris scored often by running over defenders and scoring on layups, with referees shy about calling charging fouls. The burly player was somewhat neutralized by Mikey Mahoney who had a career night, scoring 10 points, six of them inside the crucial final two minutes. Mahoney came into the game toward the end of the first quarter.

Two treys by Hall and a free throw by Wright put the 'Hawks on top in the early going. The Senators Bush and Covington scored in the paint as their team trailed Pea Ridge 7-4. Harris entered and scored two quick goals before the quarter's end, and the big defensive end would go on to lead the Senators scoring with 17. Layups by Thomas and Church along with a Thomas free throw kept the 'Hawks ahead as the buzzer sounded at the end of the first with a 12-8 'Hawk lead.

Harris would bulldoze his way to the goal early in the second quarter, scoring four times and adding a free throw. Meanwhile, Hall was scoring on a short jumper and a pair of free throws with Cole Wright dropping in a layup and Hayden Holtgrewe sinking two freebies as the 'Hawks still led 20-17 midway through the second quarter.

Mahoney began to assert himself, hitting two free throws after getting fouled by Harris. After Robinson's Edmund Robinson hit a short jumper, Rose struck from the corner to double the lead to 6 at 25-19. Moments later, the 'Hawks regained possession and Mahoney scored on a put-back over Harris to boost the lead to 27-19. Johnson hit a trey for Robinson in the final seconds along with a Harris free throw as Pea Ridge went into intermission nursing a 27-23 lead.

The 'Hawks ran into misfortune out of the gate, as 'Hawk turnovers and hot shooting by Robinson's Robinson and Swoboda flipped the 3-point deficit to a 3-point lead at 30-27. Rose tied it up at 30-30 with a trey but Robinson matched it with a trey of his own to regain the lead for the Senators. This time, Rose would hit two more treys and along with a Thomas layup, the 'Hawks would outscore the Senators 8-1 over a two-minute time span for a 38-34 lead.

Robinson, the team's normal scoring leader, would nail two jump shots, but a trey by Thomas and two free shots by Hall edged the 'Hawks further ahead at 43-38. A free throw by Bush and a trey by Hudson erased the modest lead, getting Robinson to within 1 at 43-42. Holtgrewe came up big with a trey but a turnover by the 'Hawks led to a running shot bu Robinson to send the 'Hawks into the final period leading by just two at 46-44.

While the referees were not reining in Harris' rough play, the Senators' big man scored the first 7 points for Robinson in the first half of the fourth quarter. Mahoney opened things up for the 'Hawks inside blocking out Harris, allowing Thomas and Hall chances to score in the paint. Hall scored on a layup and free throw with Thomas scoring on a rebound, layup and free throw to keep pace with the Senators. Mahoney then scored inside, sinking the foul shot afterward to give Pea Ridge a 6-point lead at 57-51.

Robinson hit a trey to halve the lead, but Wright answered with a pair of free throws. Thomas then found Mahoney inside where he scored, getting fouled by Harris in the process. Mahoney completed his second old fashioned trey to give the 'Hawks a seemingly safe 62-54 lead with only a minute left in the game. However, Church was fouled out of the game shortly afterward, and the 'Hawks turned the ball over three straight times with Robinson, Bush and Swoboda all scoring to get the Senators to within 2 at 62-60.

Hall was fouled with 30 seconds left to get back to a 3-point lead, but the Senators scored on their possession to narrow the lead to just one. Hall scored another free throw with 4 seconds left, and the final shot by Robinson from mid-court fell far from the mark, sending the 'Hawks faithful into a celebration.

The 'Hawks sank eight treys on the evening compared to just three for the Senators. The 'Hawks missed just six of 24 free throws with Robinson missing 10 of 17. The 'Hawks won the game from the lines (3-point, free throw) and a workmanlike defense.