PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove (5-6, 2-1) spoiled Pea Ridge's bid for a win in the first varsity boys basketball game held at Blackhawk Arena dropping the home team, 37-29, on Friday, Jan. 8.
The Tigers kept the Blackhawks (3-7, 0-2) winless in 4A-1 Conference play with balanced scoring. Blake Gardner led the Tigers with 9 points while Sloan Smith, Knox Laird, and Ethan Gross tossed in 7 points apiece and Cam Roeder had 4.
Suitably unimpressed with the fanfare, the Tigers scored 14 unanswered points following a 3-pointer by the Blackhawks' Jared Brewer to start the contest. Roeder scored the first bucket for the Tigers, then Smith and Gross cranked up 3-pointers before Gardner produced the next six points. Edwards broke the run with a 3-pointer, but Pea Ridge trailed 14-6 at the end of the first quarter.
The scoring slowed down considerably after that with the Tigers leading 22-13 at halftime. Prairie Grove built the lead up to 11 points, at 26-15, in the third on a pair of Smith free throws. Pea Ridge rallied with an 11-2 run to close out the third quarter. Edwards hit treys sandwiched around Brewer's 2-point field goal. Gross interrupted the Blackhawks' spree with a bucket for the Tigers before Pea Ridge closed the gap to 28-26 on David Andrus' trey at the end of the third quarter.
Laird began the fourth with a basket for Prairie Grove. Andrus hit another 3-pointer drawing Pea Ridge to within 30-29 midway through the fourth, but Prairie Grove sealed the game from the free throw line. The Tigers made 7-of-9 free throws down the stretch and 10-of-13 for the game.
Prairie Grove 37, Pea Ridge 29
Prairie Grove^14^8^6^9^--^37
Pea Ridge^6^7^13^3^--^29
Pea Ridge (3-7, 0-2): Greydon Edwards 6 0-0 16, David Andrus 2 0-0 6, Jared Brewer 2 0-0 5, Kindon Cates 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 0-0 29.
Prairie Grove (1-1): Blake Gardner 4 1-2 9, Sloan Smith 1 4-6 7, Knox Laird 3 1-1 7, Ethan Gross 2 2-2- 7, Cam Roeder 1 2-2 4, Marco Martinez 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 10-13 37.
3-Point Goals -- Prairie Grove 3 (Gross, Martinez, Smith), Pea Ridge 7 (Edwards 4, Andrus 2, Brewer).