Mid-Prairie boys suffer first conference loss

by Mary Coblentz
The Mid-Prairie boys’ basketball team lost to West Branch on the road Friday, January 15, 61-65, in its first conference loss of the season.
Quinn Hollan’s three-point basket got the Golden Hawks off to a fast start, and Mid-Prairie led by as many as 11 in the first quarter. A West Branch three-pointer at the buzzer made the score 20-14 going into the second quarter.
The Bears continued to climb back into the game in the second quarter, and a last-second three-point shot tied the game at 32 going into halftime.
In the third quarter, Mid-Prairie took back the lead. Tanner Miller made a lay up and got fouled. He completed the three-point play for a 37-34 M-P lead. Then he got a steal and another two points for a 39-34 lead. But West Branch tied it up again at 39.
After a 41-40 West Branch lead, Miller had another traditional three-point play and two more two-point baskets, one of them at the buzzer for a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Golden Hawks didn’t score a basket in the fourth quarter until the 4:30 mark, but they did hit three of five free throws. West Branch got the lead at 50-49 and held onto it.
Mid-Prairie was forced to foul. Down the stretch, the Bears hit seven free throws, and Mid-Prairie made four. The Bears gave the Golden Hawks a chance, missing five of eight free throws in the final two minutes, but it wasn’t enough.
Mid-Prairie coach Don Showalter said, “Every loss is tough. The first half I thought we played pretty well, and then we got beat the fourth quarter. I think we were outscored 23-13 in the fourth quarter. Give all the credit to West Branch.
“I thought (West Branch coach) Stephen (Bender) had his kids playing really well, really hard. They hit shots when they needed to, and they took care of the ball.
“Our stats had us with only eight turnovers, and that’s pretty good. We should be a little better off when we only have eight turnovers. But again, West Branch’s size and physicality hurt us a little bit.
“From the field, we outscored them by seven points. They made 11 more free throws than we did, so that shows you who the tougher team was tonight. They got to the free throw line more. Did a better job of getting the ball in the basket. We fouled them, and they hit the free throws.”
Miller led all scorers with 26 points. Hollan led in rebounds with eight.
Mid-Prairie stats: Mark Aldeman 1 0-0 2, 1 rebound, 3 steals, 5 assists; Michael Aldeman 3 0-0 7, 1 3-pointer, 3 steals; Kaleb Duwa 4 2-3 11, 1 3-pointer, 1 rebound, 2 steals; Dylan Hochstetler 2 2-2 6, 3 rebounds; Quinn Hollan 3 0-0 7, 1 3-pointer, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 5 assists; Tanner Miller 10 6-10 26, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist; Aaron Smit 2 rebounds; Jordan Yotty 1 0-0 2, 6 rebounds; Oliver Hassman 1 steal.