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Boys notch win over RVC foe before break
by Matthew Dickinson, sports editor · Sports · December 24, 2024
In a game that ended up too close for comfort, the West Branch boys’ basketball team entered the holiday break with a win Friday night at West Liberty with a tense 64-57 conference triumph over West Liberty.
“A win’s a win, man,” Bears Head Coach Jason Kern said. “I thought Jayden Harris played unreal. Past two games, he had 26 and [then] 28 tonight. I thought Nate Hills and Lincoln Naber really struggled in the first half. We challenged them at halftime, and then they stepped up and played really well in the third and fourth quarter.”
The coach added that late-game execution and “taking better care of the basketball” would be key elements to address, noting some turnover issues that made the game much closer than it likely would have been otherwise.
The beginning of the game was a back-and-forth affair, with Brandon Pickett putting the Bears on the board with a layup as West Branch trailed 3-2. Pickett followed with a layup to give West Branch its first lead at 4-3, while a Brandon Pedersen layup and Harris 3-pointer assisted by Pedersen kept the Bears ahead 9-7 after West Liberty answered twice with baskets. Harris added another layup, but a 7-0 Comets run to end the first had the home team ahead 14-11 heading into the second.
Brennen Dale set up Pickett for his third layup and the first points of the quarter to cut the deficit to one. Dale then got on the scoring ledger with a 3-point play as the Bears trailed 19-16 at a West Branch timeout with 5:01 to go in the half. The Comets then called timeout at the 4:34 mark to talk things over.
Pedersen got another basket on a West Liberty goaltending call, while Harris put the Bears ahead with a 3-pointer followed by a jump shot. Harris kept up his torrid stretch with another jump shot followed by a layup. The impressive scoring effort translated to a 27-26 West Branch lead at the half.
After the intermission, Pedersen answered two points from West Liberty with a jump shot, while another Harris 3-pointer put the Bears ahead 32-31 at a West Branch timeout with 6:16 left in the third.
Following the reset, Hills got started offensively with a layup before Harris sunk a 3-pointer on an inbounds play. Pickett followed with a pair of free throws after getting fouled, while Naber had a layup off the bench. Dale then assisted Naber on another layup, pushing the edge to 43-37. Harris closed out the quarter with a layup and 3-pointer as West Branch held a 48-41 lead heading into the fourth.
“We kind of switched back and forth between our 1-3-1 and man [defenses],” Kern said of what made the difference in the third quarter. “We got some steals and easy transition buckets, which always helps when your defense can turn into offense.”
The coach added that Harris gained some confidence by getting some 3-pointers to go and finding a rhythm offensively.
Harris remained hot to start the final quarter, burying a 3-pointer. The Bears’ frontcourt took a hit, with Pickett exiting the game with 6:43 to play after collecting his fourth foul. West Branch weathered the foul trouble, with Hills adding a point on a free throw and Dale setting up a Naber layup to push the lead to 54-47, forcing a Comets timeout with 4:53 left.
West Liberty answered with two points, while Hills got a contested layup to keep it a seven-point game. Pedersen then ran into foul trouble with his fourth personal and 4:05 to play. Naber snapped a 3-0 West Liberty run with a layup before grabbing an offensive rebound and putting up the layup, making it 60-52 after the hustle play at a West Branch timeout with 2:27 to go.
Pedersen made it a 10-point game on an offensive rebound and layup as the Comets called timeout with 1:14 left. West Liberty began its comeback effort, getting a 3-point play. Pickett then fouled out with 30.5 to play after collecting his fifth personal. The Bears called timeout to set up the final stretch.
West Liberty drew a foul, getting both chances to go to whittle its deficit to five, 62-57. After being chased off the 3-point line, Comets senior Seth Axsom’s jump shot did not find the bottom of the net as the Bears grabbed the rebound. Pedersen then put the icing on the cake as time expired with a layup to officially put the game out of reach.
Harris scorched the nets all night, pouring in 28 points on efficient 11-18 shooting including a 6-8 showing from 3-point range. Kern said Harris “didn’t really force anything tonight,” saying that “he’s just reaching his potential.”
The stressful finish helped provide a learning experience for a team that played just three seniors in the game. The coach said that “you’ve got to learn to win ugly games,” adding that limiting turnovers and executing well down the stretch will be critical as the season wears on.
The Bears will have plenty of time to work on improving, with the next matchup coming after the holiday break with a Jan. 3 road test against Pella Christian. Kern said that the team will take a well-earned break of about seven days off before returning to practice. He added that the Bears will mainly be working on “basic fundamentals” instead of trying to reinvent a system that has shown signs of success throughout the season.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 11 10 10 17 48
WL 18 10 7 14 49
West Branch statistics: Nathan Hills 2 2-6 5, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block; Brandon Pedersen 5 5-11 10, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Brenneen Dale 1 1-4 3, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks; Lincoln Naber 5 5-7 10, 5 rebounds; Jayden Harris 11 11-18 28, 6 3-pointers, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Ethan Miller 0 0-1 0, 1 steal; Brandon Pickett 3 3-3 8, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block. Team totals: 27 27-50 64, 6 3-pointers, 28 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks.
West Liberty statistics: n/a
West Branch 54, Regina 58
A short trip down Herbert Hoover Highway put the Bears up against Regina, but the Regals collected the Nov. 19 win, 58-54.
1 2 3 4 T
WB 13 17 15 9 54
Reg 17 14 16 11 58
West Branch statistics: Nathan Hills 1 1-5 5, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Brandon Pedersen 1 1-5 3, 1 3-pointer, 3 rebounds, 1 steal; Brennen Dale 4 4-8 9, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Lincoln Naber 0 0-2 1, 2 rebounds, 1 block; Jayden Harris 11 11-19 25, 3 3pointers, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Ethan Miller 1 1-3 3, 1 3-pointer; Brandon Pickett 3 3-8 8, 1 3-pointer, 7 rebounds, 1 steal. Team totals: 21 21-50 54, 6 3-pointers, 25 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, 1 block.
Regina statistics: Connor Nicpon 1 1-6 3, 1 3-pointer, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal; Drew Greve 4 4-11 8, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals; Tate Wallace 2 2-7 10, 4 rebounds, 3 assists; Will Litton 9 9-13 23, 1 3-pointer,9 rebounds, 3 assists; Ben Wade 1 1-2 2, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks; Tate Lynch 4 4-10 12, 4 3-pointers, 4 rebounds. Team totals: 21 21-49 58, 6 3-pointers, 33 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks.
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