Ava Middle School Basketball Round Up
Bears
The Ava Middle School Bears returned to action after the Thanksgiving break with games at Houston on Tuesday, November 27th.
Ava’s 7th grade squad defeated the Tigers 30-27. Ava led 11-2 after the first quarter and led 15-6 at halftime. The Houston team rallied in the second half to take a 24-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
The Bears responded with a rally of their own, outscoring the Tigers 10-3 in the final minutes to earn the victory. Zach Breshears and Rylin Dickson led the scoring for the Bears with 9 points each, followed by Brayden Thorburn with 7 points. Junior Cazares contributed 4 points and Ryan Thompson chipped in 1 point to round out the scoring for the Bears.
The Bears started slowly in the 8th grade contest, but went on to defeat the Tigers 43-24.
The game was tied 8-8 midway into the second quarter before Ava moved out to a 17-11 halftime advantage.
The third quarter proved to be the pivotal point in the game, as the Bears outscored Houston 16-3 in the quarter to push their lead to 19 points.
Quin Breeding led Ava’s scoring with 26 points, followed by Josh Springer with 9 points. The rest of the scoring for the Bears included two points each from Luther Supancic, Luke Little, Hunter Hall, and Grady Goss.
The Bears traveled to play the Forsyth Panthers on Friday, November 30th. The Bears defeated the Panthers 12-11 in the two quarter C game. Grady Goss was the leading scorer with 4 points.
Dade Forrest, Matthew Lakey, Brett Ross, and Jayce Terrell scored two points each to complete the scoring for Ava.
Ava’s 7th grade team was defeated by Forsyth’s B squad 35-18.
The Bears trailed by only 6 at halftime, but Forsyth outscored the Bears by 14 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Junior Cazares led the scoring for the Bears with 5 points. The remainder of Ava’s scoring included: Kemper Wickware 3, Wyatt Coberly 2, Roebe Henry 2, Ivan Mings 2, Brayden Thorburn 2, Ryan Thompson 1, and Jayke Lebsock 1.
The 8th grade Bears lost to Forsyth A 40-31 in the final game of the night. Forsyth led 19-11 at halftime, but Ava rallied to tie the game at 29-29 early in the fourth quarter.
Forsyth regained the lead and held on for the win. Scoring for Ava included: Quin Breeding 16, Josh Springer 10, and Luke Little 5.
Lady Bears
The Ava Lady Bears middle school squads faced Cabool, Willow Springs, and Mountain Grove teams this past week with several wins across 7th- and 8th-grade teams.
The 7th-grade squad is trailing this season with a record of 3-6 and the 8th-grade squad pushing through the season at 8-1.
Ava Middle School faced Cabool at home on Nov. 26. The 7th-grade team pulled a win from the match, topping Cabool 29-19.
Strong and Melton delivered for the Lady Bears, sinking 9 and 8 points respectively. Dry and Barnum secured 5 rebounds apiece, Barnum also contributing seven to the tally.
The 8th-grade squad also picked up a win, blowing-out Cabool 74-15. O. Gastineau secured the wide margin with 23 points and 9 rebounds, aided by Mendel and L. Gastineau with 8 and 9 points, respectively.
The team pulled in 29 rebounds, aiding in the squad’s offensive onslaught.
The Ava Middle School Lady Bear squads were on the road against Willow Springs on Nov. 27, securing another two wins.
The 7th-grade squad brought in a 24-19 win with Barnum serving-up 15 points and 5 rebounds. Belcher added six and Strong another four to lead the Lady Bears to victory.
The 8th-grade team picked up their 8th win of the season, topping Willow Springs 38-15. O. Gastineau put-in 10 points, assisted by Akers and Fossett with 8 points each.
The Lady Bears played against Mountain Grove on Nov. 29, where the 7th grade team was served with a 27-12 loss.
Barnum lead scoring with 6 points and 2 rebounds, followed by Belcher with another four.
The 8th-grade squad lead Mountain Grove with a narrow 36-32 win with O. Gastineau and Fossett sinking 10 points each. Akers assisted with another nine.
