Champions! For the first time in the eight years the Pea Ridge Blackhawk basketball team hosted The Battle at the Ridge, they came out as champions, according to head coach Trent Lloyd.
The Blackhawks defeated the Clarksville Panthers 61-37 Thursday night in the third game of the tournament which began Thursday, Dec. 7.
They defeated the Drew Central Pirates 70-40 in the seventh game of the tournament played Friday night.
And, in the final and championship game, despite the score often being within two points, the Blackhawks defeated the Greene County Tech Golden Eagles 60-45.
"It was good. Two good teams were playing. They hit a lot of shots -- they've got a good post player who made some great moves against us," Lloyd said of the Greene County Tech team.
"I thought we adjusted well in the second half. We had some guys make some really tough plays down the stretch and we finally got the rebounds we had to have when it mattered.
"Just proud to finally win this tournament," Lloyd said. "It's the first time we've ever won it. We're going to celebrate that one."
"It was awesome! We had some great teams, great coaches," Lloyd said. "It went really smooth Thursday, Friday, Saturday. It was just a good three days for every team and the community."
"They all stepped up at some point," he said of the players. "When you're playing three games in three days you got to rely on all of them. They all at some point impacted us in a great way ... it was fun!"
Play began Thursday, Dec. 7.
Teams competing in the Battle At The Ridge, in addition to Pea Ridge, were Clarksville, Drew Central, Providence Academy, County Line, Fountain Lake, Greene County Tech and Neosho, Mo.
Sponsors of the tournament included Arvest Bank, Courtyard Marriot, Victoria's Mexican Restaurant, MWI Construction -Matt Ingram, Diego's Mexican Restaurant, Chuy's Tex Mex, Quality Handyman Service - Chad Whatley, Discover Church, Dye Hards Gym, Harps Food Store and Pea Ridge basketball parents who helped supply food for hospitality room.
Battle at the Ridge results
Game 1
County Line Indians, 59/Fountain Lake Cobras, 55
Game 2
Greene County Tech Golden Eagles, 48/Neosho, Mo., Wildcats, 42
Game 3
Pea Ridge Blackhawks, 61/Clarksville Panthers, 37
Game 4
Drew Central Pirates, 68/ Providence Academy Patriots, 41
Game 5
Fountain Lake Cobras, 28/Neosho Wildcats 51
Game 6
Clarksville Panthers, 48/Providence Academy Patriots, 33
Game 7
Pea Ridge Blackhawks, 70/Drew Central Pirates, 40
Game 8
County Line Indians, 35/Green County Tech Golden Eagles, 51
Game 9
Providence Academy Patriots, 51/Fountain Lake Cobras, 66
Game 10
Clarksville Panthers, 38/Neosho Wildcats, 43
Game 11
Drew Central Pirates, 35/County Line Indians, 49
Game 12
Pea Ridge, 60/Green County Tech, 45
Players of the game
Game 1
County Line, No. 13 Parker Winiecki
Fountain Lake, No. 5 Dillon Dettmering
Game 2
Greene County Tech, No. 24 Parker Harris
Neosho, No. 1 Collier Hendricks
Game 3
Pea Ridge No. 33 Anthony Ayala
Clarksville No. 44 Gage Reed
Game 5
Clarksville No. 32 Israel Delarosa
Providence Academy No. 3 Carson Housley
Game 6
Fountain Lake No. 10 Treyton Gray
Neosho No. 4 Tyrone Harris
Game 7
Pea Ridge No. 20 Skye Davenport
Drew Central No. 5 Tra'bennet Fuller
Game 8
County Line No. 25 Trenton Johnson
Greene County Tech No. 11 Colter Hunt
Game 9
Fountain Lake No. 23 Nick Johnson
Providence Academy No. 12 Andrew Kimbrow
Game 10
Clarksville No. 0 Cannon Davis
Neosho No. 2 Kaiden Asberry
Game 11
County Line No. 13 Parker Winiecki
Drew Central No. 11 Alex Preddy
Game 12
Pea Ridge No. 5 Zion Whitmore
Greene County Tech No. 22 Kason Scott
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Pea Ridge Blackhawk junior J.B. Bledsoe, No. 22, works around Golden Eagle defenders during the championship game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Pea Ridge Blackhawk sophomore Anthoni Ayala, No. 33, goes up for a basket in the Saturday afternoon championship game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Pea Ridge Blackhawk sophomore Skye Davenport, No. 20, is surrounded by Golden Eagle defenders as he goes up for a shot at The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Sophomore Blackhawk Skye Davenport, No. 20, rises above a defender going for the basket in the championship game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Head coach Trent Lloyd questions the referee after a call during the Saturday afternoon championship game of The Battle at the Ridge. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Head coach Trent Lloyd talks to the players during a time out in the fourth quarter of the championship game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Players and fans rejoice as the Pea Ridge Blackhawks defeat the Greene County Tech Golden Eagles 60-51 in the championship game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Junior Zion Whitmore, No. 5, was named Player of the Game for the Pea Ridge Blackhawks in the final game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.
Annette Beard/Pea Ridge TIMES Senior Ben Wheeler, No. 1, expresses joy as he reaches for the championship trophy as the Pea Ridge Blackhawks defeated the Greene County Tech Golden Eagles in the championship game of The Battle at the Ridge Saturday afternoon. For more photographs, go to the PRT gallery at https://tnebc.nwaonline.com/photos/.