The Ava Middle School Bears played at Willow Springs on Monday, December 13.
The seventh grade Bears came away with a 27-25 victory.
Ava led 10-7 at halftime and led 20-18 after three quarters of play.
Morgan Smith led Ava’s scoring with 8 points, followed by Dakota Pierce and Zach Hunsaker with 6 points each. The Bears also received 4 points from Caleb McFarlin, 2 points from Colton Overcast, and one point from Nate Bray.
The eighth grade Bears lost to Willow Springs 46-42.
The game was close throughout; Ava led by two points after each of the first two periods while Willow Springs led 34-32 after three periods of play.
Cody Huff led the scoring for the Bears with 12 points, followed by Tristan Haltom with 9 points. The remainder of the scoring for Ava included: Colton Akers 6, Derrick Bushong 6, Kasey Kutz 5, John Luebbering 2, and Fred Haden 2.
The Bears visited West Plains on Thursday, December 16.
The seventh grade Bears were defeated by West Plains 34-18.
The Bears trailed 19-7 at halftime.
Hunsaker led Ava’s scoring with 15 points, followed by Pierce with two points, and one point from Austin Potts.
The eighth grade Bears prevailed with a 42-28 win.
Ava led 19-14 at halftime and the Bears led 32-20 after three quarters of play.
Derrick Bushong’s 14 points and 11 points from Colton Akers led the scoring for the Bears. The remainder of Ava’s scoring included: Haltom 9, Luebbering 2, and Joe Herrell 2.
The next action for the Bears will be in tournament play at Willow Springs.
The seventh grade Bears will play the Mountain Grove Panthers at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, January 3.
Action in the eighth grade division will see the Bears in a rematch with Willow Springs at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 3.
Both divisions of the tournament are scheduled to conclude on Saturday, January 8.
