English Valleys' Everett Bender shoots a midrange shot in a game against Belle Plaine Tuesday, Jan. 13 in Belle Plaine. (Ben Lamparek/Hometown Current)

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BELLE PLAINE — Having your two leading scorers reach four personal fouls halfway into the third quarter is never ideal. Especially as the opponent is capturing some momentum.

English Valleys held the line, leading from start to finish in a 55-43 boys basketball win over Belle Plaine in South Iowa Cedar League play Tuesday.

Everett Bender picked up his fourth foul at the 4:02 mark with the Bears leading 29-24. Kane Axmear picked up a fourth earlier in the quarter. The two had 19 of those 29 points.

Nevertheless, English Valleys closed the quarter on a 6-2 run to extend the lead to nine heading to the final quarter.

“I knew we could bring in good guys like Owen (Mather) and they could make up for the scoring and be good on defense,” Ben Axmear said.

English Valleys' Owen Mather (middle) battles for a loose ball in a game against Belle Plaine Tuesday, Jan. 13 in Belle Plaine. (Ben Lamparek/Hometown Current)

Two of the three baskets came from Ben Axmear, the other from Mather, who finished with six points and made a lot of hustle plays.

“He did everything for us tonight and did all the dirty work,” Ben Axmear said of Mather.

Kane Axmear started strong as the Bears’ post faced a good battle with Belle Plaine’s Carter Mueller when they were both in the game.

Kane had a quick six points against the zone defense of Belle Plaine. English Valleys led 13-9 after a quarter.

English Valleys' Kane Axmear (55) goes up for a shot in a game against Belle Plaine Tuesday, Jan. 13 in Belle Plaine. (Ben Lamparek/Hometown Current)

A pair of Mueller free throws to start the second was the closest Belle Plaine would get the rest of the game, but the Plainsmen kept within striking distance for much of the game by forcing some live-ball turnovers as Mueller, Mason Walter and Peyton Dostal stepped up in the scoring department.

Facing a 26-20 halftime deficit, all three had their moments in the second half, but the Bears never let if get closer than four.

Belle Plaine's Peyton Dostal, left, drives in a game against English Valleys Tuesday, Jan. 13 in Belle Plaine. (Ben Lamparek/Hometown Current)

Bender finally got into a groove with the midrange shot for English Valleys in the fourth, scoring 11 of his game-high 20 points in the quarter.

“A few games ago we started having me go baseline against the zone and have Kane be the high post,” Bender said. “We ran it well, which led to my open shots.”

English Valleys came into the game leading the conference in three-pointers but made only one Tuesday.

“It’s a confidence booster knowing we can win when shots aren’t falling,” Bender said. “It’s good to be able to score at every level, especially when the threes are not falling.”