GRAVETTE -- Trent Loyd knows his team will have to win in tough environments in order to reach its ultimate destination.
Pea Ridge did that on Friday night, gutting out a tough 51-40 win on the road against Gravette in 3A/4A District 1 action.
Girls
Pea Ridge^16^12^12^10^—^50
Gravette^12^20^25^20^—^77
Pea Ridge (11-8): Whatley 8, West 7, Dayberry 7, Anthony 6, Socha 5, Landis 4, Davis 4, Fletcher 4, Swope 3, Hooten 2.
Gravette (12-8): Foster 25, Garcia 18, Pinter 11, Dixon 6, Branscum 6, Kildow 5, McKenzie 4, Bookout 2.
Boys
Pea Ridge^15^12^10^14^—^51
Gravette^7^4^12^17^—^40
Pea Ridge (18-1): Hall 11, Wright 11, Caudill 10, Rose 9, Thomas 8, Church 2.
Gravette (14-4): Wishon 20, Trembly 11, Duke 4, Miller 3, Childress 2.
Every seat was filled in Lions Gymnasium on "Orange-Out" night, and both ends of the court held standing fans. Loyd said it was the kind of atmosphere his team needed to see as the postseason nears.
"Gravette brought a great crowd and the student section was awesome," Loyd said. "Both teams played extremely hard. This is going to benefit both teams down the road."
Pea Ridge surged ahead early, using an 8-2 run to take a 10-3 lead with 3 minutes, 16 seconds left in the first quarter on Kobe Rose's 3-pointer from the right wing. Rose hit a trio of 3-pointers for the Blackhawks.
Both teams were undefeated in league play at 11-0 coming into the game. Gravette (14-4) got within 15-10 early in the second quarter when Kelton Trembly drained a 3-pointer to start the quarter.
The Lions did not score again until after second quarter buzzer sounded, after Pea Ridge ran off a 12 straight points. But there were some fireworks on both ends in the final 28 seconds of the quarter.
Pea Ridge senior Matt Thomas got tangled with a Gravette player under the Blackhawks' goal that led to Thomas' first foul. He was hit with his second foul as the buzzer sounded seconds later, then picked up his third foul just 12 seconds into the second half and was forced to the bench. That led to chippy play on both sides that caused game officials to stop play several times during the second half.
"I think you had two teams here who were playing physical, and you got crowds who are getting into it," Loyd said. "That's going to be an environment that you are going to see in post-season play."
Pea Ridge's lead swelled to 21 points, 34-13, early in the third quarter when Joey Hall, who shared team high scoring honors with 11 points, hit a pair of free throws.
But Gravette fought back behind Dayten Wishon, who led all scorers with 20. Wishon was able to attack the basket in the second half and scored 15 points in the two quarters combined, but the Lions could not overcome the big early deficit.
The Blackhawks will be on the road Tuesday at Greenland, while Gravette will host Prairie Grove.
Girls
Gravette 77, Pea Ridge 50
The Lady Lions trailed early but took the game over in the second quarter and rolled to a big home win.
Tori Foster hit her first shot of the game and finished with a game-high 25 points for Gravette. Bernice Garcia added 18 for the Lady Lions (12-7), who took the game over with at least 20 points in each of the last three quarters.
Stephanie Pinter added 11 points for Gravette and dominated the boards on both ends.
Allie Whatley led Pea Ridge (12-8) with eight points.
Sports on 01/21/2017