The Ava Middle School Bears traveled to Mountain View to play the Liberty Eagles on Monday, November 22.
The seventh grade Bears were defeated 21-19 by the home team.
Ava trailed 12-8 at halftime and trailed 17-10 after three quarters of play. The Bears had a final shot to tie the game as time expired but the shot fell just off the mark.
Leading the scoring for Ava was Zach Hunsaker with 5 points, followed by Chance Dobbs and Caleb McFarlin with 4 points each.
Nate Bray, Austin Potts and Morgan Smith scored 2 points each to round out the scoring for the Bears.
The Bears dropped the eighth grade contest by a score of 45-31.
Ava trailed by only one point after the first quarter but allowed the Eagles to extend their lead to 26-14 at halftime.
Ava closed the gap to 7 points after three quarters of play but was unable to catch the Liberty squad in the final period.
Tristan Haltom was Ava’s leading scorer with 12 points, followed by John Luebbering with 8 points. The remainder of the scoring for the Bears included: Derrick Bushong 6, Cody Huff 3 and Shannon Porter 2.
The Bears were on the road at Cabool on the following evening of November 23.
The seventh grade lost to Cabool by a score of 29-22.
Ava trailed 21-10 at halftime but pulled to within five points at 25-20 in the final period before the Bulldogs put the game away.
Morgan Smith led Ava’s scoring with 8 points, followed by Zach Hunsaker with 6 points.
Caleb McFarlin scored 3 points; Dakota Pierce and Chance Dobbs scored 2 points each, and Austin Potts chipped in one point to complete the scoring for the Bears.
The Bears defeated the Bulldogs 38-19 in the eighth grade contest.
Ava led 10-2 after one quarter of play and extended that lead to 28-9 by the end of the third quarter.
Tristan Haltom’s 19 points led Ava’s scoring, followed by 10 points from Derrick Bushong. Fred Haden, Joe Herrell, Cody Huff and Colton Akers scored 2 points each; John Luebbering added one point to complete the scoring for the Bears.
Next week the Bears host the Reeds Spring Wolves on Tuesday, December 7, and travel to Mountain Grove on Thursday, December 9.
Game times for both nights of play are scheduled for 5:30 PM, beginning with the seventh grade game followed by the eighth grade contest.
