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Nate Allen has been a key contributor to the Berryville Bobcats basketball team for the past three seasons, but his senior year has had its hurdles.
Allen’s mother, beloved Berryville teacher Larissa Allen, died in September after a long battle with breast cancer. And Allen has been plagued by a nagging foot injury for most of the season.
So Berryville coach Brent Compton, along with Allen’s teammates and Bobcat fans, were especially pleased to see Allen make eight three-pointers and score 28 points to lead Berryville to a 59-40 victory over Prairie Grove on Saturday at Bobcat Arena.
“Nate had a great game,” Compton said. “I’m super happy for him. He’s been struggling. People don’t know but he’s had a foot injury most of the season. And he’s just doing everything he can to compete out there. It was really nice to see him knocking down shots and to see that smile.”
The Bobcats, who were coming off a 53-32 loss at Pea Ridge in a crucial conference game less than 24 hours earlier, started slowly against Prairie Grove. The Tigers led 12-7 at the end of the first quarter before Berryville responded with 20 second-quarter points to take a 27-19 halftime lead.
Senior Jake Wilson scored seven of his 12 points in the second quarter, while Allen made his second and third three-pointers of the game.
Allen scored 19 second-half points, including 11 in the third quarter as the Bobcats extended their lead to 45-29.
“The first quarter, we were flat,” Compton said. “We didn’t feel like we played up to our potential in the first quarter. But then in the second quarter, things started going in our direction.”
Berryville had gone into the game at Pea Ridge hoping to improve its seeding for the upcoming district tournament at Bobcat Arena, but Compton said the loss to the Blackhawks likely locks the Bobcats in as the fourth seed. That would leave Berryville needing two victories to earn a spot in the 4A-North Regional Tournament. Berryville (19-7, 7-5 4A1) trails Huntsville and Pea Ridge by two games in the conference standings with two to play.
“I don’t think we can move up,” Compton said.
Pea Ridge outscored Berryville 19-5 in the first quarter and led 28-9 at halftime. The Blackhawks recorded recorded their second double-digit margin of victory over the Bobcats this season.
“We just haven’t played well against them,” Compton said. “It’s a matchup thing. There are some teams you don’t match up well with, and Pea Ridge is one of them.”
Wilson led the Bobcats with 13 points against Pea Ridge.
Berryville will close out the regular season with a pair of home games at Bobcat Arena, hosting Gravette on Tuesday and Shiloh Christian on Friday.
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