Two wins follow tough loss to Okanogan
By Don Nelson
After staying even with one of the state’s top-ranked teams through three-and-a-half quarters, the Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team fell to Okanogan, 52-36, last week before finishing the regular season with two straight wins heading into district playoffs.
The Mountain Lions won road games at Omak, 46 – 35, and Manson, 61 – 30, after the home-floor loss to powerful Okanogan — which was coming off a victory over second-ranked Brewster.
Liberty Bell parlayed tough defense and the hot shooting of junior Connor Cooley to a 23 – 22 halftime lead over Okanogan. The Mountain Lions hung tough in the third quarter to enter the final frame behind by just four points, 37 – 33.
At the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter, Okanogan clung to a 40 – 36 lead, but then reeled off 12 unanswered points to close out the Mountain Lions.
“I thought our defensive intensity was perhaps as good as it has been all year long in our game against Okanogan,” coach Kyle Acord said. “Taking a halftime lead, and still being in a four-point game well into the fourth quarter with them, was a good accomplishment. I think the guys realized that with that kind of defensive play, we can compete against anybody.”
Cooley finished with 23 points, but no other Mountain Lion scored more than four.
“On Thursday night [Feb. 5] in Omak, I think the guys found out what can happen when you don’t play with that kind of intensity every night, no matter who you are playing against,” Acord said. “While we were able to make a little run in the third quarter to establish a double-digit lead, we really did nothing else the rest of the night, and held on to win a very sloppily played game.”
Cooley again led the Mountain Lions’ scoring with 17 points to go with 10 rebounds, followed by junior Micah Klemmeck with 13 points.
The next night (Feb. 6), Liberty Bell doubled up on Manson. The Mountain Lions jumped to a 17 – 4 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
“We did put together a nice bounce-back game against Manson,” Acord said. “The defensive effort was back on par with what we were able to do against Okanogan. The only mental letdown of the night was in the beginning of the second quarter when we were not able to execute and play with the same intensity of the first quarter. We talked about that at the half, and the guys responded well, attacking and pressuring their way to a comfortable lead by the end of the third.”
Micah Klemmeck scored 19 points to lead Liberty Bell. Cooley duplicated his stats at Omak with another 17-point, 10-rebound night.
On Wednesday (Feb. 11) Liberty Bell was scheduled to play Mabton at 8:30 p.m. at Eastmont High School in East Wenatchee in the first round of the double-elimination District 6 tournament. Win or lose, the Mountain Lions will play again on Saturday (Feb. 14) at Eastmont. If Liberty Bell wins, they will play the winner of the Waterville-Okanogan game; if the Mountain Lions lose in the first round, they will play the Waterville-Okanogan loser.
Liberty Bell is seeded fourth in the North Central Washington 2B North division with an 8 – 6 record in league play and a 14 – 6 record overall; Mabton finished tied for first in the south division with an 8 – 2 record in league play and a 15 – 5 record overall.
It was senior night at the Okanogan game, where Jorge Lara, Jose Dominguez, Josiah Klemmeck, Adrian Casillas, Willy Duguay, D.J. Haley and Garrett Dornfeld were honored for their contributions.
Liberty Bell vs. Okanogan
Okanogan 10 12 15 15 52
Liberty Bell 14 9 10 3 36
Points/rebounds/steals/assists
Jorge Lara 4 2 1 2
Ben Klemmeck 2 3 0 0
Jose Dominguez 2 2 0 1
Andrew Reggiatore 2 4 0 0
Connor Cooley 23 4 3 1
Micah Klemmeck 1 5 1 1
Willy Duguay 0 3 0 1
Garrett Dornfeld 2 2 2 2
Liberty Bell at Omak
Liberty Bell 10 9 16 11 46
Omak 10 7 6 12 35
Points/rebounds/steals/assists
Ben Klemmeck 5 3 3 1
Jose Dominguez 2 2 2 0
Andrew Reggiatore 3 4 1 0
Connor Cooley 17 10 2 2
Micah Klemmeck 13 3 2 0
Willy Duguay 4 4 4 0
Josh Frey 2 2 0 0
Carter Dornfeld 0 1 0 0
Leif Portmann-Bown 0 0 0 0
Zane Herrera 0 0 0 0
Liberty Bell at Manson
Liberty Bell 17 11 17 16 61
Manson 4 10 9 7 30
Points/rebounds/steals/assists
Jorge Lara 0 4 4 2
Ben Klemmeck 3 2 1 1
Jose Dominguez 6 2 2 2
Andrew Reggiatore 4 2 1 1
Connor Cooley 17 10 0 1
Micah Klemmeck 19 8 5 2
Willy Duguay 4 4 4 2
Josh Frey 6 2 0 0
Carter Dornfeld 2 0 0 0
Leif Portmann-Bown 0 0 0 0
Zane Herrera 0 0 0 0
Standings
North Central Washington 2B North
Brewster 13-1 18-2
Okanogan 13-1 17-3
Lake Roosevelt 9-5 10-7
Liberty Bell 8-6 14-6
Oroville 4-10 6-13
Tonasket 4-10 7-12
Manson 3-11 8-12
Bridgeport 2-12 5-13
Source: cwbathletics.comf
