Trent Loyd's Blackhawk cagers came close to taking an upset victory over host Harrison in the District finals last Friday but had to settle for the runner-up trophy. The girls fought two tough battles among two of the top five teams in the state but wound up with losses to take the fourth seed into this week's Regionals.
Finals
Boys
Harrison 51, Pea Ridge 39
The Blackhawks and Goblins played lock-down defense with points hard to come by in the opening minutes in the contest.
No one scored in the first four minutes of the championship game, with the first score being a Harrison jump shot at the 4:02 mark. There was 2:37 left in the period before Wes Wales tied the score on a layup. The Goblins then scored twice more, aided by 'Hawk turnovers, to take a 6-2 lead. Nick Coble hit a pair of free throws to cut it to 6-4 with Landon Allison trading treys with Harrison to end the first quarter with the hosts leading 9-7.
A mishandled defensive rebound led to a Goblin score, which was followed by a poor 'Hawk pass which was intercepted then shot through for a trey seconds later to jump Harrison ahead 14-7 with 6 minutes left before half.
Wes Wales began a comeback for the 'Hawks swishing two of two from the line, followed by a Wales to Feemster pass netting a layup with Feemster returning the favor by feeding Wales for another layup to cut the gap to a single point 14-13 with 2:54 left in the second period. Harrison managed just two free throws the rest of the way while Coble hit his third and fourth straight free throws and with Noah Peterson nailing one behind the arc to send Pea Ridge into the break with a 18-16 advantage.
The second half became somewhat bizarre with one of the three officials working the game making nearly all the calls generally going in favor of the hosts. Harrison outscore the Blackhawks 16-10 in the third period to go into the final quarter with a 32-28 lead. Wales provided most of the offense, hitting two shots underneath and adding a free throw. Landon Allison provided the balance of the scoring with a trey and layup.
The fourth quarter became a lopsided free throw shooting affair with the hosts going to the line 20 times with the 'Hawks having only three shots from the charity stripe. Coble scored a pair of buckets to lead the fourth quarter offense but the rough play helped Harrison double their lead to 40-32 with three minutes left in the game.
Feemster scored on a rebound and free throw to cut the deficit to 40-35, two free tosses by the Goblins expanded the lead to 42-35. At this point, Carson Rhine ripped a big 3-pointer to get the Harrison lead back down to four at 42-38. Feemster and Harrison traded free throws to maintain the 4-point spread at 43-39 when perhaps the play of the game happened at the one-minute mark.
With Harrison opting to run the clock out, Feemster made a quick move to steal the ball, seemingly on the way to cut the lead to 2 on a fast break. However, the senior forward was hammered on his way up to the goal, being knocked to the floor with the official on the play seemingly oblivious to the foul. The ball was knocked out of bounds with the same referee awarding the ball to the Goblins. A touch foul was called on the 'Hawks moments later, leading to a pair of free throws made by Harrison and a 45-39 lead with 46 seconds left. Goblins then lined up shoot many more free throws on their way to a 51-39 final victory.
Wales led the scoring with 10 points, followed by Coble 9, Allison 8, Feemster 6, with Rhine and Peterson each scoring 3.
Semi-finals
Pea Ridge 52, Huntsville 50
Nick Coble's 3-pointer as the clock expired snatched defeat from the jaws of a Huntsville victory as Pea Ridge whipped the East Division champion Eagles for the third time this season as they won in overtime in district semi-final.
Though the 'Hawks held a narrow 2-point lead at the half, 25-23, Huntsville jumped ahead by 3 at the end of three quarters and were holding the same edge with just three seconds left in the contest. After Wes Wales took the end-bounds pass near mid-court, he hit Coble with perfect pass in the left corner. Desperate Eagle defenders flew at at the senior sharpshooter, but Coble ducked the blocking attempts, sending the ball into the net to force the game into overtime.
Senior Alex Wilkerson provided the offense in the O.T., canning a big trey along with a field goal to more than offset Huntsville two-bucket effort in the extra frame. Will Feemster added a free toss in the final 2-point conquest.
The game started off as a barn burner and the constant battling never abated. Coble nailed a trey and bucket to spark first quarter efforts with Feemster adding two goals of his own. Landon Allison shot a trey and Wales scored in the paint as the 'Hawks ended the first period nursing a 14-13 lead.
Coble then duplicated his first quarter trey and bucket shots with Allison and Peterson scoring one behind the arc as the 'Hawks outscored the Eagles to take a 25-23 lead into intermission.
Huntsville enjoyed their best offensive show of the game in the third quarter, flinging in 16 points to race past Pea Ridge and into a 39-36 lead going into the fourth quarter. Carson Rhine kept the 'Hawks close with a trey and bucket with Coble scoring a field goal and free throw. Wales had the other bucket with Peterson scoring once from the charity stripe.
The Blackhawks then went into defensive overdrive, shutting down the Eagle attack, limiting them to just 7 points in the fourth quarter. Coble shot through two field goals before his dramatic 3-pointer saved the game as time expired. Wales scored a bucket and Wilkerson hit one from the line to provide the rest of the scoring as the regulation game ended in a tie at 46-46. The 'Hawks then outscored the Eagles 6-4 in overtime to take the final 52-50 win.
Coble led the scoring with 20 with Wilkerson scoring 6, Wales 6, Allison 6, Rhine 5, Feemster 5 and Peterson 4.
First round
Pea Ridge 49, Gravette 31
Pea Ridge used a second quarter explosion to burst past the Gravette Lions on their way to a first-round victory, qualifying the 'Hawks for a berth in the North Region Tournament next week.
It was the second straight game for the 'Hawks to face Gravette as Pea Ridge edged the Lions on a buzzer beater in the regular season finale. This game would need no buzzer beater as they took control by intermission and cruised in for the victory.
Gravette jumped out to an 11-8 lead in the first period as the 'Hawks could make but three baskets in the opening time frame. Fortunately, two of those were treys, one by Nick Coble and one by Alex Wilkerson, Wes Wales scored the other goal on a shot in the paint.
The second quarter proved to be the game's turning point as the 'Hawk defense squelched the Lion scoring attack, limiting them to a paltry 3 points in the period. Meanwhile, the 'Hawks poured through 16 points, enabling the boys from the Ridge to take a commanding 24-14 half-time lead.
The 3-point shot was again the engine of offense with four of the five goals on mark came from behind the arc. Rhine authored two of the treys with Allison and Peterson popping in the other two shots. Wales again scored underneath with Wilkerson adding to the surge with a pair of made free throws.
The 'Hawks stifled the Lions again in the third, limiting them to just three short range field goals. Peterson hit his second trey with Coble and Wales adding goals, while Allison hit one from the free throw line as Pea Ridge went into the final period with a 34-20 lead. Peterson hit his trey at the buzzer to seemingly drive a dagger into the Lions' hopes for a comeback.
Gravette was not through, however. as they shut out the 'Hawks for the first three and a half minutes of the final frame. The Lions scored a trey and bucket to cut the lead to single digits at 34-25.
Coble ended the run with a trey with 4:30 left to put the 'Hawks back on top by double digits, 37-25. After a Lion bucket, Coble hit a 10-footer, then Wilkerson swished six straight free throws with Rhine adding two as well as Pea Ridge surged ahead by 20 at 47-27 with 1:54 left in the game.
Gravette scored twice in the late going as Peterson dropped in a shot in the lane to close out the scoring.
Wilkerson led the scoring with 11, followed by Coble 10, Rhine 8, Peterson 8, Wales 6 and Allison 4.
Girls semi-finals
Berryville 49, Pea Ridge 31
The state's second-ranked Berryville Bobcats seemed intent on revenge for the 'Hawks denying them first place in the East Division in earlier loss to Pea Ridge. A big first quarter for the 'Cats propelled them on to a 49-33 victory.
It was the Bobcats' size and numerous turnovers and mistakes by the 'Hawks that led to the loss on the Goblin hard courts. A 19-9 score in favor of Berryville in the first quarter gave the Bobcats an edge they would ride for the rest of the game. Maria Socha was the only 'Hawk who could connect, as the senior post player hit three buckets and a trey to score all 9 points.
While the 'Hawk defense tightened in the second, Berryville matched the effort. While the scoring slowed, the 'Cats added to their lead, outscoring Pea Ridge 9-4 to assume a significant 28-11 half-time lead. Hollyn Davis was the only 'Hawk to score, scoring twice from in close.
The Lady 'Hawks doubled their score in the third quarter with Davis, Gabby Adams and Katelyn Swope all canning treys to go with another regular shot by Swope. However, Berryville matched their offensive effort and added one, outscoring Pea Ridge 12-11 to head into the fourth quarter with 40-22 advantage.
The 'Hawks got a trey by Aidan Dayberry, a goal by Davis and four straight made free throws by Lauren Wright in the final going, but the Bobcats matched Pea Ridge point for point to register the final 18-point margin of victory.
Socha led the way with 10, followed by Davis 9, Swope 5, Wright 4, Adams 3 and Dayberry 3.
Consolation finals
Harrison 47, Pea Ridge 43
Pea Ridge, in their second trip to Goblin Arena, led the way for most of the game but numerous trips to the free throw line by Harrison in the final quarter gave the hosts a come-from-behind victory.
Hollyn Davis hit a trey with Blakelee Winn and Alissa Short connecting on field goals to keep the Lady 'Hawks close to the Lady Goblins. Maria Socha provided a pair of free throws as Pea Ridge trailed Harrison 10-9 after one quarter.
Davis hit another trey and added two free tosses as the 'Hawks surged past Harrison to take a half-time lead. Gabby Adams and Socha added goals with Short adding a free throw to give Pea Ridge a narrow 19-16 half-time lead. The 'Hawks' defense limited Harrison to just 6 points in the quarter.
Both offenses picked up in the third period, with Harrison slicing a point off the 'Hawk advantage as the hosts trailed 31-29 headed into the final eight minutes of play. Adams coolly swished four of four free throws with Davis matching the points with a trey and free throw. Socha and Winn dropped in a bucket each to maintain the 'Hawk lead.
Harrison went to the line 14 times in the deciding quarter with Pea Ridge getting just two chances. Winn put on a show, making the two free throws while also jamming through four field goals. However, Davis' field goal was the only score to come apart from Winn's fireworks and the 'Hawks dropped the decision to the hosts.
Davis and Winn led the scoring with 14 each, followed by Adams and Socha with 6 each and Short with 3.
Sports on 02/20/2019