By Don Nelson
A slow first quarter left the Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team with too much ground to make up against Waterville-Mansfield on Saturday (Jan. 13), as the Mountain Lions fell 60-34 on the Shockers’ home court.
Liberty Bell managed just one point in the first quarter, and only a good defensive effort — holding Waterville-Mansfield to 11 points — kept the Shockers within sight. Waterville-Mansfield stretched the lead to 29-11 at halftime.
“We came out pretty flat,” Liberty Bell coach Kyle Acord said. “While our defensive effort was pretty good, we were not able to execute offensively.”
“At halftime we made a few defensive adjustments and the guys responded well, with a very well-played third quarter,” Acord said.
Seniors Cash McClane and Carson Gunnip-Hunter each had 9 points for Liberty Bell. Gunnip-Hunter also had 8 rebounds, while junior Peter Aspholm grabbed 10 boards.
The Mountain Lions were to have hosted Manson on Jan. 11, but that game was postponed because of the day’s snowstorm. The game is rescheduled for Feb. 3 at Liberty Bell.
The Mountain Lions now are 0-13 for the season. They hosted Lake Roosevelt on Tuesday (Jan. 16) and will travel to league-leading Brewster on Thursday (Jan. 18). Oroville visits Liberty Bell on Saturday (Jan. 20) with tip-off at 4:30 p.m. and Tonasket will play on the Mountain Lions’ home court on Tuesday (Jan. 23), tipping off at 7:30 p.m.
Waterville-Mansfield 60, Liberty Bell 34
Liberty Bell 1 10 16 7 34
Waterville-Mansfield 11 18 13 18 60
ptsrbsstlsassts
Deken Smith 4 2 0 1
Owen Hevly 0 1 1 0
Brayden White 0 2 0 0
Carson Gunnip-Hunter 9 8 0 1
Cash McClane 9 0 1 1
Simon Studen 7 3 0 2
Bo Hughes 0 2 0 0
Waterville-Mansfield JV 52, Liberty Bell JV 43
Logan Hall 11, Noah Falcon-George 9, Dusty Patterson 6, Shay Crandall 4, Colton Overbeck 4, Tommy Know 4, Alex Whites 3, Tyler Darwood 2.
