HOT SPRINGS -- A spirited band of 'Hawk athletes tried their best to bring down Goliath but they ran out of stones late as Pea Ridge settled for second place in the state 4A championship game, losing to Little Rock's Baptist Prep 59-51 at Hot Springs Friday night.
Kobe Rose hit the 'Hawk's 14th 3-point shot of the night mid-way through the fourth quarter to give Pea Ridge a 47-45 lead and a shot at the sport's top prize. However, that trey by the 'Hawks would be their last and Prep would sink 10 of 12 free throws in the waning moments and with the Eagles 7'3" Connor Vanover dominating the glass, the defending champions would escape with the victory.
Box Score
Pea Ridge 10 13 15 13 — 51
Baptist Prep 14 14 13 18 — 59
The game would see five tie scores and the lead would change eight times in one of the more memorable 4A finals in history. The championship was the fifth for the west Little Rock private school and it was a first time Pea Ridge had ever appeared in a state basketball championship final.
Sports writer Scottie Bordelon of the Democrat-Gazette called the Blackhawks' shooting prowess "one of the best shooting performances in state finals history." Even opposing coach Brian Ross praised the 'Hawks efforts, saying "they deserved to be here and probably deserved to win the game."
Pea Ridge scored the first points of the game when Rose put one in from underneath for a 2-0 lead. Prep's Dylan Hogan erased the 'Hawks lead with a 3-pointer, and after a pair of 'Hawk turnovers, Isaac McBride grabbed one of them to drive in for a layup and 5-2 lead. Vanover corralled a missed Prep shot and dropped it through the net for a 9-2 lead with 3:30 left in the first period, but Rose responded by ringing up the Blackhawks first 3-pointer to shrink the lead to 9-5.
Prep's James Renshaw got a rebound and putback for a score, and then got the ball right back on a 'Hawk turnover. Cole Wright frustrated their chance to go up by 8 when he stole the ball away from the Eagles and drove it in the other way to score, lowering the deficit to 11-7.
McBride hit a 3 with a minute left, and after a Vanover defensive rebound, Prep hoped to add to the Eagles 14-7 lead. Playing for the last shot, the Eagles missed with the rebound went the 'Hawks' way, eventually going to Joey Hall who had to launch one from more than 40 feet out. The shot may well turn out to be the best shot taken over the whole 14 game championship finals as it landed dead center of the goal to get the Eagles lead back down to four, trailing 14-10 as the buzzer sounded.
The dramatic shot set Hall on fire as he went on a tear over the first four minutes of the second quarter. Hall hit a trey from the top of the key seconds into the period, and then went on to hit two more 3-pointers and a layup, giving Pea Ridge a 21-19 lead with 4:01 left in the half.
The Eagles finally managed to get the ball to Vanover and he converted to tie the game. Matt Thomas then hit a 10-foot jump shot to retake the lead at 23-21 with 2 minutes left. The lead didn't last long with Vanover again getting the ball close in, dropping the shot in well above the 'Hawks' outstretched arms.
Calamity struck Pea Ridge in the final minute with a pair of turnovers leading to 5 points scored by McBride. The first turnover allowed McBride the chance for a breakaway layup and the second occurred when McBride came up with the ball then drove in, stopping for a last second 3-point attempt. The shot was off, but a foul was called and McBride got three shots from the free throw line. McBride, who would win the 4A Most Valuable Player Award, swished all three to give Prep a 28-23 lead at intermission.
The third quarter saw each team play to their strength. The 'Hawks scored all their points from behind the arc and the Eagles scored all their points under the goal, with Vanover scoring five of their six goals. Pea Ridge countered with five 3-pointers, outscoring the favored Eagles 15-13 to get to within 3 at 41-38. Westin Church, Hall, Rose and Hayden Holtgrewe all hit from downtown to spark the 'Hawks' comeback.
Holtgrewe brought the crowd to its feet when he drained his 3-pointer in the final second of the third period to close the gap. Blackhawk fans had even more to cheer about for the junior player Holtgrewe as he hit the first shot (a trey) of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 41-all. After a frenzy of play, the Eagles took back the lead with McBride hitting a short jumper, but within 15 seconds, Wright took the lead for Pea Ridge when he drilled a 3-pointer, giving Pea Ridge a 44-43 lead with 6:10 left.
A minute later, McBride got the lead back for Prep with a 7-foot jumper, but the lead disappeared as quickly as it came with Rose hitting his third trey, pushing the lead back Pea Ridge's way at 47-45.
At this point, things got rocky for the 'Hawks as the underdogs turned over the ball twice in addition to stellar defender Wright being whistled for his fourth and fifth fouls, forcing his exit from the game. Over a 90-second stretch, the Eagles would score on a rebound and two free throws by McBride and a couple of charity tosses by Hogan to get up on the 'Hawks 51-47.
The Eagles then called a timeout and changed their defense to keep any 'Hawk from getting open on the 3-point line with Vanover left underneath to challenge layups or short attempts. Sure enough, the 'Hawks did get off some shots in the paint but Vanover was able to put fingers on them to push the ball off course.
With the Eagles up 51-47, Vanover got several offensive rebounds, and scored a bucket and two free throws. The Eagles also got a pair of free throws from McBride and Jaivon Collins. Church scored on a layup in the game's last minute with Hall adding a pair of free throws but the gap had grown too big, and the 'Hawks had to settle for the state runner-up trophy as the buzzer sounded with the final score set at 59-51.
The game was well played throughout with the 'Hawks suffering only eight turnovers with the Eagles coughing it up only four times, none in the second half.
Hall led the Pea Ridge offense with 16 points followed by Rose with 11, Wright 8, Church 8, Holtgrewe 6 and Thomas 2. Mikey Mahoney played but did not score.
The defending champions were led by McBride and Vanover who both scored 20 points. The Eagles got 11 from Hogan, 6 from Collins and 2 from Renshaw.
Sports on 03/15/2017