By Don Nelson
The Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team finished a busy week on three different floors to come away with two wins and a loss.
The Mountain Lions beat Manson, 51-42, in a home game on Jan. 13; lost at Lake Roosevelt, 60-49, on Friday (Jan. 16); and finished a long road trip with a win on Saturday (Jan. 17) at Soap Lake, 75-56. All were 1B league games.
On the home hardwood, Liberty Bell jumped to a 27-9 halftime lead over Manson as the Mountain Lions’ defense smothered the Trojans.
But Manson clawed back in the second half to close within nine points at the end.
“We struggled a bit in the second half, particularly the fourth quarter where we played a bit sloppy, but were able to hold on for the win,” said coach Kyle Acord.
Connor Cooley topped the Mountain Lions’ scoring with 22 points and added 12 rebounds. Micah Klemmeck added 11 points and eight rebounds, and picked off four steals.
“At Lake Roosevelt, it was a classic case of the tale of two halves,” Acord said. “In the first half, we shot well and Lake Roosevelt did not. In the second half, Lake Roosevelt shot well and we did not. It was really almost as simple as that.”
Indeed, Liberty Bell took a 37-29 lead into the locker room at halftime, but fell behind when Lake Roosevelt scorched the Mountain Lions with a 15-2 third quarter. The Raiders finished Liberty Bell off with a strong fourth quarter.
“Lake Roosevelt did a good job of adjusting at halftime and we struggled a little bit,” Acord said. “It was a hard-played game by both teams. I was happy with our effort defensively, particularly in the first half, with a lot of credit going to Jose Dominguez and Jorge Lara for their defensive work on Lake Roosevelt’s ball handlers.”
Cooley achieved another double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Micah Klemmeck duplicated those totals with his own double-double.
At Soap Lake, the visitors got off to a slow start. “They [Soap Lake] jumped out to a 12-4 lead and held a 19-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.” Acord said. “We then methodically came back in the second quarter, taking a two-point lead just before the end of the first half.”
Liberty Bell powered through the second half to extend its lead for what looked a relatively easy victory.
“After the Lake Roosevelt game, I was much happier with how we adjusted after halftime and then kept our focus in the fourth quarter to finish out the game.” Acord said. “It was a very good team victory as all eight guys who played made major contributions.”
Micah Klemmeck led the Mountain Lions’ scoring with 25 points and pilfered five steals. Cooley just missed his third consecutive double-double, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Liberty Bell was scheduled to host Tonasket on Tuesday (Jan. 20) and Lake Roosevelt on Thursday (Jan. 22), and will hit the road again for a game on Friday (Jan. 23) at Oroville.
Liberty Bell vs. Manson
Manson 4 5 15 18 42
Liberty Bell 10 17 16 8 51
Points/rebounds/steals/assists
Jorge Lara 0 1 3 2
Ben Klemmeck 6 0 0 2
Jose Dominguez 0 2 3 0
Andrew Reggiatore 6 1 1 1
Connor Cooley 22 12 0 2
Micah Klemmeck 11 8 4 1
Willy Duguay 4 5 2 3
Garrett Dornfeld 2 2 0 3
Liberty Bell at Lake Roosevelt
Liberty Bell 17 20 2 10 49
Lake Roosevelt 13 15 16 16 60
Points/rebounds/steals/assists
Jorge Lara 3 3 1 2
Ben Klemmeck 1 2 0 0
Jose Dominguez 6 3 2 0
Andrew Reggiatore 3 2 0 1
Connor Cooley 18 11 0 2
Micah Klemmeck 18 11 1 2
Willy Duguay 0 2 2 3
Garrett Dornfeld 0 0 0 0
Carter Dornfeld 0 0 0 0
Josh Frey 0 1 0 0
Liberty Bell at Soap Lake
Liberty Bell 12 25 20 18 75
Soap Lake 19 16 14 7 56
Points/rebounds/steals/assists
Jorge Lara 7 3 3 2
Ben Klemmeck 3 1 0 0
Jose Dominguez 6 3 0 1
Andrew Reggiatore 8 5 3 0
Connor Cooley 16 9 1 2
Micah Klemmeck 25 6 5 3
Willy Duguay 8 5 3 1
Garrett Dornfeld 2 1 1 0
Standings, North Central Washington 2B North
Conference Overall
Brewster 8-0 13-1
Okanogan 7-1 11-2
Lake Roosevelt 4-2 5-4
Liberty Bell 4-3 9-3
Tonasket 3-5 6-6
Oroville 2-5 4-8
Manson 1-7 6-8
Bridgeport 1-7 3-8
Source: cwbathletics.com
