GRAVETTE -- Trent Loyd's state seventh-ranked Blackhawks ended their regular season by building an early lead then making it stand up for a 53-48 victory over rival Gravette in the Lions' gym last week. The win finished the Hawks' league mark at 12-0, their first unbeaten league record in 12 years and first in the 4A classification.
The Hawks got off to a fast start to build a 16-10 lead after the first period. Senior Noah Peterson was on fire, ripping two treys while also dropping in a couple of close shots for 10 of the Hawks' early points. Hunter Rains, Wes Wales and Brandon Whatley each knocked down a field goal to add to the surge.
Peterson got a lot more attention defensively in the second period, but four other Hawks made the Lions pay with Greydon Edwards, Rains and Mazon Harris hitting from behind the arc. Wales and Rains added scores in the paint as the Hawks held off the Lions to go into the break with a 29-24 lead.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle with Gravette trying mightily to overcome the Hawk advantage with the Hawks fighting just as hard to stay in front. Gravette's Brayden Trembley, who scored half of the Lions points, put in all 8 points of the home teams' points. The Hawks were limited to a single field goal, a trey by Whatley. Gravette chose to foul Wales to prevent his inside scoring, but the lanky senior hit all four of his free throws to frustrate that strategy. The buzzer sounded with Gravette a point closer to the Hawks, trailing 36-32.
Trembley was shut down in the fourth quarter, but a pair of other Lions dropped in treys. The two 3-pointers was all the offense the Lions could come up with and the field goals and free throws by Wales and Edwards was enough to keep Gravette at bay until the final buzzer sounded with the Hawks' 43-38 victory providing an exclamation point to a highly successful conference season.
Wales led a very balanced scoring totals sheet, racking up 11 points with Peterson right behind with 10. Edwards and Rains both scored 7, Whatley had 5 points with Harris finishing with 3.
The win raised the Hawks' victory total to 20 for the year against four defeats. Any year with 20 wins in the banks is a highly successful season and the Hawks look forward to adding a lot more to the total. Pea Ridge has not lost a game since losing a December game against Little Rock Catholic, a 6A school. Loyd's Hawks have now won 12 in a row.
Sports on 02/19/2020