Liberty Bell’s Brayden White drove for the bucket against Waterville-Mansfield.
By Don Nelson
The Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team found ways to put some points on the board in a home-court loss to Waterville-Mansfield last week, but baskets were harder to come by in two subsequent losses to Lake Roosevelt and perennial powerhouse Brewster.
On Dec. 5., the Mountain Lions fell to the Shockers of Waterville-Mansfield, 52-35, with their most consistent showing of the young season. Liberty Bell junior Simon Studen put up a season-high 15 points, senior Cash McClane added 7 and senior Carson Gunnip-Hunter contributed 6 to lead the Mountain Lions’ scoring.
Liberty Bell stayed close to Waterville-Mansfield for much of the first quarter on pure hustle, but the Shockers’ height advantage, full-court press and team quickness eventually took their toll. Pressure-forced turnovers didn’t help Liberty Bell’s cause.
The Mountain Lions traveled to Lake Roosevelt on Dec. 7, and were outgunned by the Raiders from the start. Lake Roosevelt raced to a 42-14 halftime lead and didn’t look back in a 74-25 victory. Studen was again Liberty Bell’s leading scorer with 10 points. Junior Peter Aspholm grabbed five rebounds.
Back on their home court, the Mountain Lions struggled all night against undefeated Brewster on Saturday (Dec. 9). The Bears’ height and depth prevailed in a 67-18 win over Liberty Bell.
Brewster actually got off to a relatively sluggish start in the first quarter, and the score was only 6-4 with two minutes left in the quarter. The Bears stepped it up to take a 13-4 lead going into the second quarter, and upped the margin to 33-11 by halftime.
Gunnip-Hunter and Aspholm each had 4 points for the Mountain Lions. Gunnip-Hunter and Studen each picked off 5 rebounds.
Liberty Bell is now 0-4 for the season, with road games this week on Tuesday (Dec. 12) against Oroville, and Friday (Dec. 15) at Soap Lake.
Waterville-Mansfield 52, Liberty Bell 35
Waterville-Mansfield 17 14 17 4 52
Liberty Bell 10 6 19 9 35
Deken Smith 2, Owen Hevly 2, Brayden White 0, Carson Gunnip-Hunter 6, Jude Klemmeck 1, Lucaas Gonzales-Ortega 2, Cash McClane 7, Simon Studen 15, Bo Hughes 0.
Lake Roosevelt 74, Liberty Bell 25
Liberty Bell 6 8 4 7 25
Lake Roosevelt 23 19 19 13 74
Deken Smith 0, Owen Hevly 2, Brayden White 2, Jude Klemmeck 4, Peter Aspholm 4, Lucaas Gonzales-Ortega 0, Cash McClane 3, Simon Studen 10, Bo Hughes 0.
Lake Roosevelt JV 50, Liberty Bell JV 24: Deken Smith 9, Nolan Falcon-George 6, Lucaas Gonzales-Ortega 3, Tyler Darwood 2, Tommy Knox 2, Dusty Patterson 2.
Brewster 67, Liberty Bell 18
Brewster 13 20 21 13 67
Liberty Bell 4 7 4 3 18
Owen Hevly 2, Brayden White 0, Carson Gunnip-Hunter 4, Jude Klemmeck 3, Peter Aspholm 4, Lucaas Gonzales-Ortega 0, Cash McClane 3, Simon Studen 2, Bo Hughes 0.
Brewster JV 76, Liberty Bell JV 22: Tommy Knox 5, Dusty Patterson 5, Logan Hall 4, Lucaas Gonzales-Ortega 4, Alex Whites 2, Deken Smith 2.
