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Boys burn past Comets for 77-58 win
by Norv and Mary Coblentz · Sports · February 15, 2018
The West Branch boys’ basketball team put on an outstanding performance for those fans who made the drive to Monticello for first-round district play Feb. 12.
The Bears beat the Bellevue Comets 77-58 and advance to play Cascade at Cascade at 8 p.m. Feb. 15.
Three Bears scored in double figures, and the rest of the Bears played well on both ends of the court. Junior Beau Cornwell led the Bears’ scoring with 29 points despite just coming off an illness. Tanner Lukavsky had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. And Brady Lukavsky was on fire, shooting 100 percent from the floor and the free throw line. He scored 21 points.
“(Cade) Dougherty is obviously a really good player, so we knew he was going to get his points,” West Branch Head Coach Tom Burger said. “We held him to 15 at our place (Jan. 19). You know he’s going to explode. He’s just a great athlete. We were giving up some things on defense in the first half that we talked about at halftime, and I thought we adjusted pretty well. We got into a little foul trouble in the first half, so it’s almost like we’ve just got to weather the storm.
“In the second half, Beau (Cornwell) has been sick for the last three days, so his shot wasn’t falling tonight. That (was) one thing that they didn’t have to worry about. So we thought let’s throw him inside. He’s not a bad post player for us even though he’s undersized. I thought he did a fabulous job. But I want to give a lot of credit to our outside guys that got the ball to him. And we started drilling, we started passing the ball, finding gaps, and all of a sudden, they don’t know what to do.
“Our kids are great competitors in every sport that they do, and I think it shows up.
“This is kind of a funny story: Brady’s (Lukavsky) neighbor was here tonight. It was the first time he’d seen him play all year. That happened when Brady was in eighth grade too, he lit up a game in eighth grade. I think he just likes to perform for his neighbor. We’ve got to get that neighbor on the team bus next time. One thing you can always count on with that young man is he’s going to give effort.”
The Bears controlled the opening tip but turned the ball over. Cornwell got a steal and drew a foul. He made the second of two free throws. The Bears had a 1-0 lead. The Comets got a putback basket to take a 2-1 lead, then T. Lukavsky scored in the paint, giving the Bears the lead, which they kept the rest of the game. Including T. Lukavsky’s basket, the Bears went on a 13-0 run. B. Lukavsky got a steal and a layup; Cornwell got a defensive rebound, and Ben Thompson scored on a drive. The Comets took a time out with 5:33 on the clock. B. Lukavsky got a defensive rebound, and Thompson drew a foul. He made the second of two free throws. Cornwell grabbed a defensive board, and T. Lukavsky scored. T. Lukavsky got a steal and a layup to bring the score to 12-2. The Comets took another time out with 3:33 to go in the first quarter.
Cornwell got another defensive rebound, and Ted Bridges scored, assist Cornwell. Bellevue was fouled on a shot and made the first of two free throws. Jack Dragovich grabbed the board for the Bears. Bellevue got a defensive rebound and scored on a jump shot for a 14-5 score. With 46 seconds on the clock, B. Lukavsky made a three-point basket. The Comets completed a traditional three-point play, and the score after a quarter’s play was 17-8.
Bellevue had the ball to start the second quarter. Bridges got a defensive rebound, then the Comets got a defensive board. Brett Schiele got a steal, and Cornwell made a layup with an assist by Schiele. Bellevue turned the ball over, then the Bears fouled, the team’s fourth foul of the half. The Comets scored and drew another foul but did not complete the three-point play. The score was 19-10. Cornwell scored in the paint, and Bellevue got a putback basket. A defensive rebound and basket made it 21-14. The Bears turned the ball over then got a deflection. Cornwell stole the inbounds pass and scored. Bellevue answered with a bucket. The Bears traveled, and Bellevue scored again for a 23-18 score. The Bears picked up two more quick fouls, the second resulting in a three-point play. With 3:44 left in the half, the score was 25-21.
Bellevue got a steal, then B. Lukavsky got a steal and a layup. Bellevue scored to pull to within three points. Bridges, with an assist by T. Lukavsky, hit a three-pointer to double the Bears’ lead. Bellevue scored again, then T. Lukavsky made a layup. A three-point basket by the Comets brought them to within three points again at 32-29. The teams traded rebounds until, just before the buzzer, B. Lukavsky drained a three-pointer. The Bears took a 35-29 lead into halftime.
“They told me not to leave (number) 22 (Cade Daugherty, on defense), which I didn’t do,” B. Lukavsky said after the game. “That’s what made me get some steals off of him.” When asked about hitting the three-pointer at the halftime buzzer, B. Lukavsky said, “It gave me a boost in the second half knowing that I’m on fire with my threes, and I’m able to shoot.”
Cornwell started the scoring in the second half with a layup. T. Lukavsky got a defensive rebound, and Cornwell scored again, assist T. Lukavsky, stretching the Bears’ lead to double figures. Each team scored a basket. Cornwell got a defensive rebound, and Thompson made a basket and drew the foul. He completed the three-point play for a 42-31 score. Bellevue scored, then Cornwell made a basket and was fouled. He missed the free throw, and the Comets got the rebound. the Bears’ defense forced a five-second turnover, and B. Lukavsky made a three-point basket, assist Thompson. The Bears had a 47-33 lead.
The Bears picked up a foul, and the Comets made both free throws. Each team had a few fruitless trips to their basket, then Bellevue made a basket with just over three minutes on the clock. A basket by Cornwell, assist T. Lukavsky, made it 49-37. A jump ball was called, and possession went to the Bears. Cornwell drew a foul on a shot and made the first of two free throws. Bellevue scored, then T. Lukavsky made a three-pointer, assist Cade Aspelmeier. The score after the third quarter was 53-39.
Bellevue had possession to start the fourth quarter, and they quickly narrowed the Bears’ lead. The Comets scored inside, got a defensive rebound, and made a layup. Bellevue got a steal, and offensive board, and a three-point basket. The score was 53-49. The Bears took a time out, then Cornwell drove to the basket and scored. T. Lukavsky got a defensive rebound, and Cornwell scored in the paint. Bellevue called a time out. Bellevue was fouled on a shot but missed both free throws. T. Lukavsky got the rebound. T. Lukavsky was fouled on a shot. He made the first of two free throws. Cornwell got the rebound, but the Comets got a defensive rebound.
T. Lukavsky got another defensive board, then Cornwell scored with a turnaround jumper for a 60-49 score. T. Lukavsky got a defensive rebound and a basket, then Bellevue scored. Cornwell made a jump shot, assist B. Lukavsky, and the score was 64-51. Bellevue made a three-point basket, then Cornwell scored three the old-fashioned way. Bellevue fouled, then B. Lukavsky got an offensive rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws. With 1:58 left in the game, the Bears led 69-54. Bridges got a steal, and Cornwell made a layup. B. Lukavsky went on a tear to end the game. He had a defensive rebound and a layup for a 73-54 score. After a Bellevue time out, B. Lukavsky got a steal and layup. Bellevue scored and drew a foul. The free throw was missed. The Bears were fouled and missed a free throw. T. Lukavsky got a defensive rebound, and B. Lukavsky drove to the hoop and scored again. Bellevue ended the game with a basket for a final score of 77-58.
“Our guys fought back and got within (four) in the fourth quarter with five minutes left, four minutes,” Bellevue Head Coach Chet Knake said. “They got it to the high post, and we didn’t really execute. I’ve got to give Cornwell all the credit in the world. He ... scored two big buckets and got a couple stops and went on quite a run there.”
1 2 3 4 T
WB 17 18 18 24 77
Bell 8 21 10 19 58
West Branch stats: Cade Aspelmeier 3 assists; Beau Cornwell 13 3-6 29, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Brady Lukavsky 8 2-2 21, 3 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals; Brett Schiele 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal; Tanner Lukavsky 6 1-2 14, 1 3-pointer, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Ben Thompson 3 2-3 8, 3 rebounds, 2 assists; Ted Bridges 2 0-1 5, 1 3-pointer, 1 rebound, 6 assists, 2 steals; Jack Dragovich 1 rebound
Bellevue stats: N/A
West Branch 79, Clear Creek-
Amana 83
Feb. 8 at Tiffin
The Bears put up a valiant effort but came up just short in a non-conference game against the Class 3A Clippers on the road in their final regular-season game. Beau Cornwell led the Bears in scoring with 29 points and was one of three Bears with four assists in the game. Tanner Lukavsky had a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds. He also made five three-point baskets. Ben Thompson also scored in double figures with 16. He was perfect from the free throw line, making six of six. Thompson also had four assists. Cade Aspelmeier was the third Bear with four assists.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 23 13 24 19 79
CCA 24 14 27 18 83
West Branch stats: Cade Aspelmeier 1 rebound, 4 assists; Beau Cornwell 10 6-8 29, 3 3-pointers, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Brady Lukavsky 0 1-2 1, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Brett Schiele 1 0-0 3, 1 3-pointer, 1 rebound, 1 steal; Tanner Lukavsky 11 1-2 28, 5 3-pointers, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block; Ben Thompson 5 6-6 16, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal; Ted Bridges 1 0-1 2, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Clear Creek-Amana stats: Dylan Sheely 1 0-0 2, 1 rebound; Jordan Wolfe 3 7-8 15, 2 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal; Darius Moore 13 3-4 34, 5 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 block; Camden Armstrong 1 rebound; Quentin Gisleson1 rebound; Nick O’Connor 2 0-0 5, 1 3-pointer, 7 rebounds, 1 steal; Tyler Schrapfer 4 2-2 13, 3 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 4 assists; Nolan Schwarting 3 0-0 8, 2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds, 1 assist; T Bollers 3 0-2 6, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
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