A potential controversy about which team would get the No. 1 seed in the 4A-1 District tournament was settled Feb. 7 with Prairie Grove upsetting Pea Ridge, 59-56.
Coming into the last week of the regular season, Pea Ridge was 16-0 in the 4A/3A District-1 with Huntsville also undefeated, at 12-0 in their league leaving a question for coaches to hash out in a Feb. 8 meeting, which team should be seeded No. 1 if both remained unbeaten in league play. Huntsville and Berryville played a schedule separated from the remainder of the 4A-1 during the regular season creating a virtual tie for first place -- until the Blackhawks ran into a hungry Prairie Grove team celebrating their senior night.
"Senior night was big for six of us, obviously," said Prairie Grove senior Zeke Laird, who hit a trio of timely 3-pointers with each shot putting a dagger in Pea Ridge's hopes. "We knew it was going to be a great night. They (Pea Ridge) are a great team. You hate to look ahead but we have been looking at this game."
Pea Ridge blasted Prairie Grove earlier, winning 74-43 on the Blackhawks' home court Jan. 10. That blowout motivated Prairie Grove, but the Tigers lost at Lincoln, 53-52, after blowing a 17-point lead the Friday before their showdown with Pea Ridge. They had to refocus, knowing they must in-bound the ball safely against full-court pressure, box-out constantly and not allow Matt Thomas to beat them to the goal off the dribble.
Prairie Grove coach Steve Edmiston is a savvy, experienced strategist. He convinced the Tigers that despite the outstanding pool of talent, Pea Ridge athletes are only human and subject to limitations and frustrations.
"He (Thomas) got us for 34 points up there," Edmiston said. "Defense was key for us. We tweaked our defense and went to a zone and kind of covered things up. It's really hard, they (Pea Ridge) are so solid across the board, so hard to defend. I'm thrilled for us."
Thomas, who drove to the basket for layup after layup in the first meeting, didn't have a field goal until the fourth quarter and was held to 14 points. Pea Ridge had six different players make 3-pointers but Will Pridmore (4) and Laird (3) combined for seven Tiger treys. Prairie Grove had more field goals (21) than Pea Ridge (16).
"It was a good atmosphere, we came out with three things we knew we had to have -- effort, energy and enthusiasm," Laird said. "We decided to control what we can control. We had guys making plays, they stepped up. It was a fun game to be a part of, a good way to end our home career for the seniors."
Laird's first 3-pointer came inside two minutes to play in the second quarter and helped the Tigers hold onto a 30-29 halftime lead. His second came at the 6:54 mark of the third, seconds after Pea Ridge recaptured the lead on Cole Wright's steal. The Blackhawks didn't guard Laird on the left wing and he made them pay, sending the trifecta through the net for a 34-31 Tiger lead. Prairie Grove would never trail again.
Laird's last three dealt a severe blow to the momentum Pea Ridge had generated in an 11-1 run capped by Westin Church's 3-pointer that tied the game at 51-all with 2:22 to play. Pea Ridge botched two chances to take a lead, missing three straight free throws before Laird hit from the left corner to push Prairie Grove in front, 54-51. Then after Britton Caudill's foul shots brought the Blackhawks back to within one, Laird took an outlet to beat the full-court press and found Demarkus Cooper going to the basket for a layup and a 56-53 Tiger advantage.
Pea Ridge missed a 3-pointer, but the rebound went out-of-bounds off Prairie Grove. Pridmore stole the in-bounds pass and sank 2 of 2 foul shots. He would lead all scorers with 22. The Tigers dodged a bullet when Joey Hall, who, along with Thomas led Pea Ridge with 14 points, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that had Edmiston on edge.
"I thought Joey had hit that three, I did not want to go into overtime," Edmiston said. "I can't say enough about our kids. The effort they gave tonight, it was awesome."
MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE WASHINGTON COUNTY ENTERPRISE-LEADER.
Sports on 02/15/2017