Isaiah Stoothoff, No. 3, and Magnus Treise, No. 10, defended a Waterville-Mansfield player during the Mountain Lions’ win.
The Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team held two opponents under 40 points last week — once it was good for a win, but the second time not quite enough.
The Mountain Lions tight-checked Waterville-Mansfield and had a good offensive night in a 60-36 home court win on Friday (Jan. 17). The following day, they were edged at Manson, 38-36. The results give Liberty Bell a 3-6 record in league play, 4-9 overall.
Against the visiting Shockers, Liberty Bell jumped to a 6-0 lead and was never challenged. Junior Nolan Falcon-George drained two 3-pointers as the Mountain Lions took a 17-11 first quarter lead. Another trey by Falcon-George contributed to a 35-22 halftime lead.
Liberty Bell extended its lead to 20 points, 42-22, in the third quarter, but Waterville-Mansfield closed to 45-29 at the end of the quarter. A strong finish gave the Mountain Lions a decisive victory.
“I thought it was a good win for us as it was good to put together four quarters of solid basketball,” Liberty Bell coach Kyle Acord said.
Falcon-George led Liberty Bell’s scoring with 14 points and had 6 rebounds. Freshman Riley Lidey and senior Tyler Darwood each scored 9, and Darwood grabbed 8 rebounds.
At Manson, Liberty Bell stayed close enough throughout and entered the fourth quarter trailing by a point, 28-27.
“Manson pulled ahead 36-28 about halfway through the fourth quarter, but we made a nice little comeback to pull within two points at 38-36,” Acord said. “Unfortunately, that is the way it ended. I’m happy with the way our team defense is improving.”
Falcon-George and junior Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega each scored 8 points for the Mountain Lions. Junior Dusty Patterson pulled down 8 rebounds.
Liberty Bell was at Tonasket on Tuesday (Jan. 21), and hosts Brewster on Friday (Jan. 24).
LBHS 60, Waterville-Mansfield 36
W-M 11 11 7 7 36
LBHS 17 18 10 15 60
Riley Lidey 9, Isaiah Stoothoff 2, Magnus Treise 5, Nolan Falcon-George 14, Dusty Patterson 7, Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega 6, Tyler Darwood 9, Shay Crandall 8
Manson 38, Liberty Bell 36
LBHS 8 7 12 9 36
Manson 12 7 9 10 38
Riley Lidey 4, Magnus Treise 4, Nolan Falcon-George 8, Dusty Patterson 6, Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega 8, Shay Crandall 6
Scoring through 13 games:
Nolan Falcon-George 165, Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega 92, Dusty Patterson 75, Tyler Darwood 73, Shay Crandall 69, Riley Lidey 57, Isaiah Stoothoff 42, Deken Smith 36, Magnus Treise 31, Sawyer Crandall 22, Alex Whites 3
