PEA RIDGE -- For a half, Shiloh Christian gave Pea Ridge everything it had.
But the Saints didn't leave anything in the tank for the second half as the Blackhawks rolled to a 74-50 victory at Blackhawks Gymnasium. It was the 15th straight win for Pea Ridge, which improved to 20-1 overall.
Girls
Pea Ridge 47, Shiloh Christian 23
Shiloh Christian^10^4^2^7^—^23
Pea Ridge^15^13^18^1^—^47
Shiloh Christian (6-16): Carley Johnson 10, Berus 4, Enos 4 A. Johnson 3, Caroline Johnson 2.
Pea Ridge (12-9): Dayberry 11, Davis 9, Whatley 8, Anthony 6, Mitchell 5, West 5, Fletcher 3.
Boys
Pea Ridge 74, Shiloh Christian 50
Shiloh Christian^9^19^11^11^—^50
Pea Ridge^9^21^29^15^—^74
Shiloh Christian: Hutchinson 14, Reece 11, Lyall 9, Neal 7, Turpin 5, Bryant 2, Russ 2.
Pea Ridge: Thomas 23, Hall 20, Church 9, Caudill 7, Holtgrewe 5, Sheppard 5, Rose 3, Mahoney 2.
"They played extremely well that first half," said Blackhawks coach Trent Loyd. "Anytime we made a mistake, they made us pay for it. They came out with great intensity and I was proud of the way our guys hung in there because it was good to see how our guys would react to it."
The Saints (11-11) led by as many as nine when Seth Turpin scored five straight points, including a bucket off of a steal by Jaret Russ that resulted in coach Jacob Skinner shouting "Boom!" as the shot fell through to make it 22-13 with 4 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Everything was going their way.
Then, it wasn't.
A pair of 3-pointers by Matt Thomas and Joey Hall highlighted a 12-0 Pea Ridge run over the next three minutes of regulation. Both teams traded buckets the rest of the half -- the Saints even tied it twice, the first time on Jack Hutchinson 3-pointer -- but Thomas scored a bucket off of a late steal to give Pea Ridge a 30-28 lead at halftime.
"We shot it well. We were 6 of 6 on threes in the second quarter," Skinner said. "When we shoot it well, we look good. And it energizes our defense. We looked good for a half and caused them some fits for a half.
"But we just ran out of gas against a very good team."
Pea Ridge scored the first seven points of the second half on their way to a 29-11 scoring advantage in the third quarter. Hall handled the ball more to help the Blackhawks counter the Saints' full-court press. He also scored half of his 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the foul line.
"I think the halftime adjustment they made by putting the ball in Hall's hands changed the game," Skinner said. "Couple that with our fatigue and he was able to break our defense down."
Key third quarter moments included a 3-pointer by Hall that made it 42-32 with 4:20 to go in the third and two free throws by Thomas that pushed it to a 20-point lead (54-34) with 1:35 to go in the third. Thomas led all scorers with 23 points.
The Blackhawks scored the first eight points of the fourth quarter and Hayden Holtgrewe's 3-pointer increased the margin to 70-41 with 4:14 remaining in regulation.
"We weren't trailing at half, but it felt like it," Loyd said. "It was that close and it could have been either way. But basketball is a game of runs and we came out in the second half and fixed some of those mistakes we were making."
Girls
Pea Ridge 47, Shiloh Christian 23
The Lady Blackhawks (12-9) used an 18-0 run that spanned seven minutes from the second quarter to the third quarter and proved to be the difference.
Senior Avery Dayberry drained a 3-pointer to begin the spurt and scored eight of her game-high 11 points during the run. Senior Alli Whatley scored four of her nine points during the run.
A 12-footer by sophomore Caroline Johnson stopped the bleeding for Shiloh Christian (6-16), but the outcome already was out of reach. Sophomore Carley Johnson led the Lady Saints with 10 points.
Sports on 01/28/2017