7th, 8th Grade Boys Play 3 Games In 5 Days After Thanksgiving

The week after Thanksgiving was a busy one for the Ava Middle School Bears basketball teams, playing three games in five days.
The Bears hosted the Hollister Tigers on Monday, Nov. 28. Hollister defeated the Bears 49-37 in the 7th grade game. Hollister led 31-25 at halftime and led 40-33 after three quarters of play.
Blayne Mendel led the scoring for the Bears with 21 points, followed by Corey Heinlein with 8 points. Zach Olsen and Brayde Koop chipped in 4 points each to round out the scoring.
The 8th grade Bears fell to the visiting Tigers 40-34. Ava was unable to get the ball in the basket in the early portion of the game and trailed 23-8 at halftime. The Bears made a run at the Tigers in the second half to pull within four points, but were unable to overtake the Hollister squad.
Mason Cole led Ava’s scoring with 8 points. The rest of the scoring for the Bears included: Zack Miller 7, Bryse Dodson 6, Zach Mendel 6, Payton Evans 4, and Tanner Crandall 3.
The Bears traveled to play the Houston Tigers on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The Bears were defeated by the Tigers 30-27 in the 7th grade contest.
Blayne Mendel led Ava’s scoring with 18 points. The remainder of the scoring for the Bears included: Corey Heinlein 5, Reece Adams 2, and Brayde Koop 2. Ava’s eighth grade squad pushed out to a 26-16 halftime lead en route to a 46-36 victory.
Fourteen points from Zack Miller and 10 points from Zach Mendel paced the scoring for the Bears. The rest of the scoring included: Mason Cole 8, Bryse Dodson 7, Tanner Crandall 3, and Colton Marler 3.
The Bears picked up two wins at Forsyth on Friday, Dec. 2. Ava defeated the Panthers 35-24 in the 7th grade game. The Bears outscored Forsyth 13-3 in the final quarter of play to seal the victory.
Blayne Mendel led the scoring with 29 points. Reece Adams and Corey Heinlein added 3 points each to complete the scoring for Ava.
The Bears overcame an early deficit in order to post a 40-32 win in the 8th grade contest. Ava trailed by as many as eight points in the first quarter, but rallied to lead 24-20 at halftime. The Bears outscored the Panthers 10-4 in the fourth quarter to close out the game.
Bryse Dodson led the scoring for Ava with 12 points, followed by Mason Cole with 11 points, and Zach Mendel with 10 points Zack Miller scored 6 points and Tanner Crandall chipped in a point to round out the scoring for the Bears.