THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Pea Ridge High School Athletics

ALMA -- Pea Ridge senior Nick Coble made the most of the fourth quarter after not scoring a point in the previous two quarters Friday night at Charles B. Dyer Arena. Coble hit a three-point shot with just 38 seconds left to play to give Pea Ridge its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Pea Ridge was able to hold on after that for a 60-57 victory against Elkins in the semifinals of the Airedale Classic. "He is our guy," Pea Ridge coach Trent Loyd said. "He hadn't played well all night. We wanted to give him the chance, though. That's what he does for us. He is a big-shot guy. I'm proud of him because the game didn't go the way he wanted it to, but he showed some mental toughness hitting the shot." Coble's shot behind the arc gave Pea Ridge a 58-57 lead, then he added a pair of free throws after that to push the advantage to 60-57 with 17 seconds left. He finished with a team-high seven points in the final quarter. Coble and senior Landon Allison, who came off the bench, each finished with a team-high 14 points for the Blackhawks in its come-from-behind victory that gave Elkins its first loss of the season. The Blackhawks offense, which had seven different players score points, was also balanced by Carson Rhine scoring 12 with Alex Wilkerson adding 10. Elkins (15-1) had two opportunities on its final possessions of the game but couldn't come away with points in the final seconds. "We missed some shots we normally make," Elkins coach Jared Porter said. "But the kids played hard. It was a good experience for us, though. This was a tight, close game." The Elks scored the initial five points of the final quarter for a 56-47 edge but only scored one more point in the quarter after that. Pea Ridge used an 8-0 run capped with a pair of free throws from Rhine to cut the Elkins lead to 56-55 with 1:29 left to play. Elkins senior Chad Graham scored a team-high 16 points, while junior Caden Vaught added 11. The Elks had to play down the stretch with foul trouble and injuries to starters in junior Paxton Barnett and Vaught. "It was good to get some guys some experience for down the road," Porter said. "It's always good to develop depth. This was a great experience to gain in a nonconference setting." Elkins was able to take control of the game early with a 9-0 run in the first quarter for an 11-4 advantage. Vaught hit a three-point shot then Graham and Vaught each got steals and layups to cap the run. "We couldn't have scripted our start any better," Porter said. "We were getting shots we wanted to. But we ran into foul trouble, and some kids got hurt after that." Elkins pushed its lead out to 36-25 at the break by making seven of 12 shots from the field in the second quarter. "This game was a grind," Loyd said. "I was disappointed how we guarded at the start. Those guys are good. We got some breaks. But our guys kept grinding and found a way." Pea Ridge used a 10-0 run in the third quarter to cut the Elkins lead to 44-42 capped with a basket from Wes Wales. The Blackhawks were led in the quarter by Wilkerson scoring 10 third-quarter points, while Allison added five in the period. "We got some post looks around the basket in that third quarter," Loyd said. "Landon and Alex brought the energy we needed the entire game. They got us some easy buckets in that quarter." Pea Ridge was able to make seven of its 10 shots from the field in the third quarter, outscoring Elkins 22-15 in that time frame. "They shot the ball well," Porter said. "But I feel we got hands in faces. They stepped up and hit the shots they needed."

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Pea Ridge High School Athletics

COBLE RALLIES PEA RIDGE PAST ELKINS

HAROLD MCILVAIN

Arkansas Online | 12/29/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Pea Ridge Athletics