The Ava Middle School Bears traveled to Springfield to play the junior high teams of Springfield Catholic on Thursday, Jan. 12. The Bears defeated the Fighting Irish 39-15 in the 7th grade contest. Ava led 12-4 after the first quarter of play and held a 27-7 halftime advantage. Eight players scored for the Bears in the game, led by 12 points from Anthony Rosas and 8 points from Zimran Lawrence. Balanced scoring for the Bears included 5 points from Chase Dodson and 4 points from Peyton Ingram. Nate Crandall, Tyler Pellham, and Nick Sterling scored 3 points each; one point from Colton Skyles rounded out the scoring for Ava.
The Bears were defeated by the host team 40-22 in the 8th grade game. The Bears trailed 10-5 after the first quarter and trailed 19-12 at halftime. Catholic extended their lead to 31-14 by the end of the third quarter. Nate Bray led Ava’s scoring with 9 points, followed by Caleb McFarlin with 7 points. Chance Dobbs and Hayden Schuster scored three points each to complete the scoring for the Bears.
The Bears hosted the Strafford Indians on Monday, Jan. 16. Ava won a hard fought 7th grade contest 43-34. Ava jumped out to an early lead and led 21-14 at halftime. Strafford rallied to end the third quarter within 3 points at 26-23. Patience and good shot selection paid off for the Bears as they outscored Strafford 17-11 in the final period. Peyton Ingram led all scorers with 13 points, followed by Rosas with 12 points. The remainder of the scoring for the Bears included: Sterling 6, Skyles 6, Pellham 3, Dodson 2, and Devin Elliott 1.
Strafford defeated the Bears 51-26 in the 8th grade game. Ava trailed 14-7 after one quarter of play and trailed 28-16 at halftime. Caleb McFarlin led Ava’s scoring with 15 points. The remainder of the scoring for the Bears included: Chance Dobbs 4, Austin Potts 3, Nate Bray 2, and Colton Overcast 2.
