The Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team kept pace with visiting Soap Lake for the first half of a Jan. 23 game, but the Mountain Lions’ improved offense faltered in the second half and the Eagles prevailed, 51-34.
The slow-starting contest saw the teams tied at 2-2 with half of the first quarter gone, and knotted at 6-6 as the quarter ended.
Liberty Bell played a strong second quarter, boosted by two three-point goals from senior Cash McClane and another trey by freshman Deken Smith, and held a brief lead. The Mountain Lions were up 23-22 when Soap Lake hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer for a 25-23 halftime lead.
The Eagles continued their momentum into the second half, scoring on a combination of three-pointers and breakaway layups to build a one-time 14-point lead before the quarter ended with the visitors up 39-29. The Mountain Lions added 5 points in the final frame, for a total of just 9 in the second half, as Soap Lake gradually built its lead to the final margin.
Junior Peter Aspholm and senior Carson Gunnip-Hunter each scored 10 points to lead Liberty Bell.
Liberty Bell hosted Tonasket on Tuesday (Jan. 30), Senior Night for the Mountain Lions. Liberty Bell was 0-13 in league play (0-17 overall) going into that game. The Lions travel to Bridgeport on Thursday (Feb. 1), then finish the regular season at home on Saturday (Feb. 3) against Manson in a make-up game that was postponed by a snowstorm. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.
Soap Lake 51, Liberty Bell 34
Peter Aspholm 10, Carson Gunnip-Hunter 10, Cash McClane 6, Deken Smith 5, Simon Studen 3.
