The Ava Middle School Bears wrapped up the 2010-2011 basketball season with games at home against Springfield Catholic and on the road at Strafford.
Last Thursday’s matchup at Ava against the Fighting Irish of Catholic saw the 7th grade Bears fall to the visitors from Springfield by a narrow margin of 22-20.
Ava trailed 6-4 after the first quarter of play and trailed 16-10 at halftime. The Bears held the lead for a brief time at 20-18 midway through the fourth quarter before Catholic responded to regain the lead with just over a minute remaining in the game.
Leading the scoring for the Bears was Zach Hunsaker with 10 points, followed by Caleb McFarlin with six points. Nate Bray and Colton Overcast added two points each to round out the scoring for Ava.
The Bears won the 8th grade contest 43-26.
Ava jumped out to an early lead though Catholic worked to tie the game at 18 in the second quarter. The Bears scored the final four points of the half to take a 22-18 lead.
Ava took control of the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Irish 15-3. The Bears dominated the inside game; post players Tristan Haltom and Derrick Bushong led the scoring for Ava with 19 and 17 points, respectively.
Cody Huff hit a 3-point shot for his points during the Bears’ third quarter run. John Luebbering and Colton Akers scored two points each to complete the scoring for the Bears.
The Bears played their final games of the season at Strafford on Monday, Jan. 17. It was a tough night for the Bears as they fell to the Indians in both contests.
Strafford won the 7th grade game 42-13. Strafford opened up an early lead and continued to extend that lead throughout the game.
Nine points from Caleb McFarlin and four points from Zack Hunsaker summed up the scoring for the Bears in the contest.
The 8th grade squad suffered a similar fate as they were defeated by an excellent Strafford squad 58-31. Tristan Haltom’s 11 points and nine points from Derrick Bushong again led the scoring for Ava. Cody Huff’s seven points, along with two points each from John Luebbering and Colton Akers, rounded out the scoring for the Bears.
