Bears Will Return To Action Friday Night at Morrisville

The Ava Bears have been idle since playing three games in the Blue and Gold Tournament right after Christmas.

The Bears will return to action Friday night when they travel to Morrisville for three games, beginning with the freshman match at 5 o’clock.

The Bears will then be off another week before traveling to Salem for an SCA bout with the Tigers on Friday night, Jan. 13.

Ava lost two tough games in overtime at the Blue and Gold, and came away with a second-round win over Miller.

The Bears opened with a 48-44 loss to Marshfield on Dec. 26.

Ava held the Blue Jays to three points in the first quarter, leading 10-3 after one. Marshfield held a 20-17 lead at halftime, but the Bears tied the game at 30-all after three periods, and the score was deadlocked at the end of regulation, 41-41.

Austin Gastineau and Zach Leonard led the Bears with 13 points each. Other scoring for Ava included Kody Kutz 6, Kevin Philpott 5, Chase Dixon 4 and Ben Loge 4.

Blayne Armstrong had 15 points for Marshfield.

The Bears played Miller next and took a 46-33 win, holding Miller’s big scorers to a total of 16 points. Riley Jack had nine points for Miller and his brother Jordan Jack had seven.

Ava led Miller 19-13 at halftime and pulled away for the 13-point margin at the end of the game.

Gastineau led the Bears with 19 points, followed by Leonard 9, Philpott 6, Dixon 5, Loge 4 and Kutz 3.

The Bears wrapped up the tournament with another overtime loss, this time to Springfield Greenwood. The final in that game was 55-44.

The Bears held Greenwood to two points in the second quarter and led 16-14 at halftime. But Greenwood’s Tim Looney, who had only six points in the first half dropped in 24 in the second half to finish with 30 points in the game.

The Bears played Greenwood to a 41-all tie at the end of regulation, but the Blue Jays outscored Ava 14-3 in the overtime period to take the win.

Coach Nathan Houk said free throws was actually the difference in both of the overtime losses. If Ava would have scored better at the line they would have defeated Marshfield, and Greenwood hit free throws down the stretch to beat the Bears.