Connor Cooley skies for a rebound as Chase VanderYacht, No. 1, Micah Klemmeck, No. 12 and Ben Klemmeck, No. 2, block out against Bridgeport.
By Don Nelson
It was a week of lows and highs for the Liberty Bell High School varsity boys’ basketball team, which went from a 38-point loss to a 39-point win in the span of a few days.
The Mountain Lions roared past Bridgeport on Friday (Jan. 29), 69-30, applying relentless defense against the visiting Mustangs over the first three quarters.
On Jan. 26, Liberty Bell ventured onto the home court of undefeated, No. 1-ranked Brewster and managed to put up 44 points, something not many teams have been able to do against the Bears this year. But Brewster’s powerful offense was good for 82 points, 51 of them by halftime.
Coach Kyle Acord said the Mountain Lions came out with more intensity against Brewster than they did in a recent loss to Oroville, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Bears. “They proved why they are so highly rated,” Acord said. “We played pretty hard but just had a tough time keeping up.”
Seniors Micah Klemmeck and Connor Cooley had solid games against Brewster, Klemmeck with 16 points and nine rebounds, Cooley with 13 points and six boards. Josh Frey was also in double figures with 10 points.
Against Bridgeport, Acord said, “I thought our defensive play was key in helping us establish a lead, and then we were able to maintain that intensity for most of the game.” Bridgeport didn’t score more than eight points in any quarter.
Micah Klemmeck again led the Liberty Bell scoring with 18 points — including a crowd-pleasing slam dunk — and added seven rebounds. Ben Klemmeck and Andrew Reggiatore scored 14 points each, and Cooley scored 12 while dishing out five assists. Chase VanderYacht also had five assists.
The Mountain Lions have a chance to solidify their seeding in post-season play this week, taking on two teams they beat earlier in the year: Okanogan in a road game on Tuesday (Feb. 2), and the final regular-season game of the year at home against Manson on Thursday (Feb. 4) at 7:30 p.m. Liberty Bell comes into the week with a 7-5 record in league play, good for fourth place, and 11-7 overall.
Acord said district play will start on Feb. 10 and Feb. 13, with times and places to be determined.
| Brewster 82, Liberty Bell 44 | |||||
| Liberty Bell | 11 | 14 | 12 | 7 | 44 |
| Brewster | 25 | 26 | 16 | 15 | 82 |
| pts | rbds | stls | assts | ||
| Chase VanderYacht | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ben Klemmeck | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| Andrew Reggiatore | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| Leif Portman-Bown | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Connor Cooley | 13 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| Micah Klemmeck | 16 | 9 | 1 | 1 | |
| Carter Dornfeld | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zane Herrera | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Josh Frey | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
| Liberty Bell 69, Bridgeport 30 | |||||
| Bridgeport | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 30 |
| Liberty Bell | 20 | 22 | 22 | 5 | 69 |
| pts | rbds | stls | assts | ||
| Chase VanderYacht | 3 | 6 | 3 | 5 | |
| Ben Klemmeck | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Andrew Reggiatore | 14 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| Leif Portman-Bown | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Connor Cooley | 12 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
| Micah Klemmeck | 18 | 7 | 5 | 3 | |
| Carter Dornfeld | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | |
| Zane Herrera | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Josh Frey | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Through 18 games | |||||
| games | pts | avg | |||
| Connor Cooley | 18 | 306 | 17.0 | ||
| Micah Klemmeck | 16 | 259 | 16.2 | ||
| Andrew Reggiatore | 16 | 140 | 8.8 | ||
| Ben Klemmeck | 18 | 153 | 8.5 | ||
| Josh Frey | 17 | 90 | 5.3 | ||
| Chase VanderYacht | 18 | 55 | 3.1 | ||
| Carter Dornfeld | 17 | 43 | 2.5 | ||
| Leif Portman-Bown | 17 | 27 | 1.6 | ||
| Brendan Saling | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | ||
| Zane Herrera | 8 | 6 | 0.8 |
