PEA RIDGE — Springdale Har-Ber coach Adams Simmons shouted “shooter” then put his hands on his hips when Jacob Hall was left all alone on a 3-point attempt.
Simmons knew what was coming.
Hall finished with 23 points to lead Pea Ridge to a 63-56 victory over the Wildcats on Tuesday at the Blackhawks’ gym.
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 61, PEA RIDGE 29
Har-Ber 25 11 19 6 — 61
Pea Ridge 6 9 4 10 — 29
Har-Ber (1-1): Weber 13, Schalk 11, Neal 11, Wright 6, McCarver 5, Redmond 4, Cameron 3, Gran 3, Stephens 2, Squires 2, Bohannon 1.
Pea Ridge: Caton 13, Winn 8, Tuszunski 6, Cypert 2.
Hall, a senior guard, led a comeback for Pea Ridge (2-0) after Har-Ber (0-2) led by as much as 14 points in the first half. Hall contributed a rebound basket when Pea Ridge took control with an 8-0 surge to begin the third quarter after trailing 29-27 at halftime.
Hall continued with his hot hand in the final quarter when he made his fourth 3-pointer and a layup off a steal to give Pea Ridge a 54-41 lead. Har-Ber got to within six but the Wildcats could not overcome the second-half shooting by the Class 4A Blackhawks.
PEA RIDGE 63, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 56
Har-Ber 15 14 7 20 — 56
Pea Ridge 6 21 18 18 — 63
Har-Ber (0-2): Rice 18, Fox 16, Malott 12, Buccheri 7, Jester 3.
Pea Ridge (3-0): Hall 23, Pitts 11, DeLeon 10, Mangrum 7, Rose 7, Tillman 5.
“Jacob has always been a good shooter, and now he can take the ball to the basket,” Pea Ridge coach Charley Clark said. “We’re glad he got going and once he starts feeling it, usually everybody else hops right in line there.”
Levis Pitts scored 11 points and Nick DeLeon 10 for Pea Ridge while Alex Rice finished with 18 to lead Har-Ber.
“We let (Hall) go off and it’s got to bother you when your man scores on you,” Simmons said. “You’ve got to know where your man is, especially when he’s as good a shooter as (Hall).”
Har-Ber looked in control after the second of Brandon Buccheri’s two 3-pointers put the Wildcats ahead 20-6 in the first half. But Pea Ridge started its own long-range shooting to get to within 29-27 after two quarters.
The Blackhawks made four 3-pointers in the second quarter, including two by Hall.
Girls
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 61, PEA RIDGE 29
Samantha Weber scored 11 of her 13 points in the first quarter to lead the Lady Wildcats.
Har-Ber got off to a much better start than in its season-opener, when the Lady Wildcats fell behind by 20 points and lost 60-55 at Farmington. Har-Ber jumped to an 11-0 lead against Pea Ridge and increased it to 36-15 at halftime.
Pea Ridge didn’t score until Savannah Cypert hit from outside with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first quarter. The Lady Blackhawks didn’t reach 10 points until Casi Caton made a 3-pointer with 3:20 left before halftime. By then, Har-Ber already had 29 points.
“We wanted to bring more intensity and be more focused from the jump than we were last week,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright said. “We’re a totally new team and we’ve got to learn to read each other’s moves and pass it at the right time. I thought we did a good job of jelling more tonight.”
Pea Ridge sent three new players onto the court after Tayleah Neal made a turnaround jumper to give Har-Ber an early 6-0 lead. Neal added two more baskets before Haley McCarver scored five consecutive points to put Har-Ber ahead 20-5. Weber then followed with a three-point play and a fastbreak layup to give the Lady Wildcats a 36-15 lead at halftime.
The fourth quarter was played with a running clock because after Har-Ber ended the third quarter leading 55-19.