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10-game winning streak carries boys basketball into playoffs
by Norv and Mary Coblentz · Sports · February 16, 2017
The West Branch boys basketball team beat 3A Clear Creek-Amana 68-56 Feb. 9 at West Branch.
West Branch ended their regular season with a 10-game winning streak and a 16-5 record overall. The Bears ended the regular season at the top of the River Valley South Conference.
Both of the Bears’ seniors players started the game: Colton Dietz and Cooper Kabela.
The Bears fell behind in the first quarter and rode a second- and third-quarter scoring frenzy by Beau Cornwell as well as a 28-point performance by Kabela to a senior night win.
“Thank God Beau got hot in that second quarter, because that changed some things, too,” West Branch Head Coach Tom Burger said. “We’re working with Cooper to get him to do things without the ball, too, because he’s a great cutter.
“I thought the first quarter, we didn’t do a very good job of sprinting between the free throw lines at all, and they got some easy ones. You’ve got to win on Senior Night.”
Kabela’s opening tip went to Ben Thompson, the Bears’ third double-figure scorer in the game. The Clippers got a defensive rebound and scored the first basket of the night. Clear Creek got another defensive rebound and scored again for a 4-0 Clear Creek lead. The Bears fouled the Clippers on a shot, and CCA made both free throws to take a 6-0 lead at the 6:41 mark. Kabela scored the Bears’ first basket, a three-pointer, after an assist by Thompson for a 6-3 score. Tanner Lukavsky got a defensive rebound, then Thompson scored, assist Kabela, for a 6-5 score.
Kabela got a defensive rebound, and Thompson drove to the hoop and scored for a 7-6 West Branch lead. An outside shot by the Clippers made it 8-7, CCA. The Clippers got a defensive rebound and scored again to take a 10-7 lead with 3:34 on the clock. Ted Bridges scored for the Bears, assist Thompson to cut the Clippers’ lead to one point. Thompson got a defensive rebound, then the Clippers got a defensive board and scored in the paint for a 12-9 score. After another defensive rebound, CCA scored again with 1:48 on the clock for a 14-9 Clippers lead. There was no further scoring the rest of the first quarter.
Clear Creek had possession to start the second half, and they scored quickly to take a 16-9 lead. Kabela drove to the basket and scored, then the Clippers made an outside shot for two points. Kabela scored inside, assist Bridges. Lukavsky got a defensive rebound, the Clippers got a defensive board, then Bridges and Lukavsky got a steal. Kabela got his own rebound, scored, and drew a foul. He made the free throw to bring the Bears to within two points at 18-16. Kabela deflected the ball to a teammate, then Thompson scored and drew a foul. He made the free throw for a 19-18 West Branch lead with 5:04 left in the second quarter.
Kabela got a defensive rebound then scored, assist Thompson. Clear Creek made a basket. Kabela scored in the paint with a dish from Lukavsky for a 23-20 West Branch lead. Clear Creek was fouled on a shot and made the second of two free throws. Cornwell got his own rebound and scored for a 25-21 score. Cornwell got a steal, then the Clippers got a defensive rebound. The Clippers scored for a 25-23 score with 2:18 left in the first half.
At the two minute mark, the Clippers were fouled and missed the free throw. Cornwell made a three-point basket with 1:25 on the clock for a 28-23 score. The Clippers fouled on a rebound, and Cornwell hit another trey for a 31-23 tally. Cornwell got a defensive rebound and another three-point basket for a 34-23 score. Cade Aspelmeier was fouled on a shot with 1.2 seconds left in the half. He made the first of two free throws for a 34-24 West Branch halftime lead.
The Bears continued to pour on the points in the third quarter, burying the Clippers. The Bears had possession to start the quarter, and Cornwell scored with a reverse layup for a 36-24 West Branch lead. Clear Creek scored, then Cornwell made a three-point basket. A steal and a layup by Cornwell made it 41-26. The Bears turned the ball over, then Brett Schiele got a steal. Bridges scored, assist Thompson, and the Bears had a 43-26 lead.
The Clippers scored inside, then Thompson drove to the basket and scored. Kabela got a block, then Thompson was fouled on a shot. He made one of two free throws. After a CCA foul, Schiele made a three-point basket for a 49-28 score. The Clippers scored, then Kabela scored for a 51-30 score. The Clippers made a basket, the Bears missed a free throw, and the Clippers scored again. Kabela made a three-point basket with 1:47 left in the third quarter for a 56-32 West Branch lead. The Clippers were fouled on a shot and made the second of two free throws. CCA got a defensive rebound and scored. They drew a foul but missed the free throw. The Clippers got a defensive rebound and made a three-point basket at the buzzer for a 56-38 score going into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, the Clippers gained some ground on the Bears, but it wasn’t nearly enough. The Clippers scored first then got a defensive rebound. CCA was fouled on a shot and made the first of two free throws. Cornwell got the rebound, and Kabela made a three-point basket, assist Lukavsky. Kabela got a defensive rebound and was fouled on a shot. He made both free throws for a 61-41 score. Clear Creek scored, then Cornwell made a traditional three-point play for a 64-43 score. The Clippers made the next two baskets, the first a three-pointer, for a 64-48 score. After a Clippers time out, Kabela drove to the basket and scored with 1:48 left in the game. The Bears missed a free throw, then the Clippers made two free throws. Lukavsky drove to the basket and scored for a 68-50 score. The Clippers made two three-point baskets for the final scores of the game. The Bears won 68-56.
“It’s no surprise that those two (Cooper Kabela and Beau Cornwell) were our focus defensively,” Clear Creek Head Coach Brandon Clubb said. “We kind of held them down a little bit in the first quarter. You give two players like that opportunities to see the ball go in, we just kind of let them go, and that was it.”
1 2 3 4 T
WB 9 25 22 12 68
CCA 14 10 14 18 56
West Branch stats: Cade Aspelmeier 1 assist; Beau Cornwell 8 1-1 21, 4 3-pointers, 10 rebounds, 2 steals; Brady Lukavsky 1 rebound, 1 assist; Tanner Lukavsky 1 0-0 2, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Brett Schiele 1 0-0 3, 1 3-pointer, Cooper Kabela 10 5-6 28, 3 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks; Ben Thompson 4 2-4 10, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals; Ted Bridges 2 0-0 4, 4 rebounds, 1 assist; Jack Dragovich 1 rebound
Clear Creek-Amana stats: not available
West Branch 68, Durant 56
Feb. 7 at West Branch
Durant led by two points at halftime, but the Bears poured it on in the second half for the win. Cooper Kabela, Beau Cornwell, and Ben Thompson each scored in double figures. Kabela scored 28 points including one three-point shot and nine of 12 free throws. Cornwell scored 24 points including one three-point shot and nine of 10 free throws. Ben Thompson scored 11 points. Cornwell led in rebounds with six and in steals with six. Tanner Lukavsky was the leader in assists with six.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 19 13 18 18 68
Dur. 13 21 8 14 56
West Branch stats: Cade Aspelmeier 1 1-1 3; Beau Cornwell 7 9-10 24, 1 3-pointer, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 steals; Brady Lukavsky 3 rebounds; Tanner Lukavsky 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal; Cooper Kabela 9 9-12 28, 1 3-pointer, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block; Ben Thompson 4 3-4 11, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal; Ted Bridges 1 0-0 2, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Durant stats: Easton Botkins 2 0-0 5, 1 3-pointer, 1 rebound, 5 assists; Jake Conley 3 1-3 8, 1 3-pointer, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal; Luke Whitlock 5 0-0 11, 1 3-pointer, 2 rebounds, 3 assists; Mason Compton 3 2-2 8, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Bryce Lafrenz 4 0-0 9, 1 3-pointer, 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Josh Hein 2 0-0 6, 2 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Curtis Lilienthal 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal; Joe Lilienthal 4 1-2 9, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
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