West Branch escapes Golden Hawks

WELLMAN - Two ranked River Valley Conference basketball teams invaded Mid-Prairie Thursday. While both got a win, it took a last-second shot for the 10th-ranked (Class 2A) Bears to defeat the Golden Hawk boys 50-48.

The West Branch girls expanded their record to 17-1 overall and in the RVC by inflating a first-quarter lead from 13-8 to 32-15 by halftime. That second quarter and Sasha Koenig's 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds helped give the (2A) No. 3 Bears the win 60-31.

Phelan Hostetler had 15 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots for Mid-Prairie, which dropped to 10-11 overall and 9-10 in the league. Maddie Nonnenmann netted three 3-pointers in scoring 13 points, with four rebounds and three assists.

The Golden Hawk boys (13-7, 13-5) gave themselves quite a challenge, falling behind 19-9 by the end of the first quarter but an unanswered run closed the deficit to 31-27 by halftime. From a deficit of 39-35, Mid-Prairie went into the lead at 46-45. Tied at 48, Thomas Gould's buzzer beater gave him 12 points and West Branch (17-2, 17-2) a win.

Mid-Prairie's Aidan Rath gathered up eight rebounds and scored 14 points while Hawks teammates Alex Bean and Will Cavanagh connected on three 3-pointeers each. Cavanaugh also hit a two. Jackson Pennington had four assists.