WEST  BRANCH

Aiming for their third consecutive win, the Golden Hawks hit the road to challenge fellow River Valley conference member West Branch, but unfortunately for the Hawks this Friday night battle belongs to the Bears.

Showing out in front of a home crowd, West Branch scored its season high and defeated Mid-Prairie, 83-46, on Dec. 8. 

With this win West Branch sits atop of the RVC south with a 3-1 record and a 1-0 conference record. For Mid-Prairie this loss drops its record to 2-2 and its conference record now sits at 2-1. 

From the jump the Bears set the tone for the game with their stout defense. Mid-Prairie was shut out in the first quarter, and they went into the second frame facing a 15-point deficit. 

Senior Beau Flynn was able to get Mid-Prairie on the board by scoring the opening points of the second frame. It ended up being a closely contested quarter but West Branch’s strong start to the game still gave them a 35-15 lead at the half. 

Scoring 20 plus in the third and fourth quarter, West Branch held a double-digit lead until the final buzzer sounded, winning the game by 37. 

West Branch ended the game with four players scoring double figures. 

Continuing his strong start to his senior campaign, West Branch’s Holden Arnaman led all scorers with a season high 31 points. He reached this impressive point total with the help of connecting on seven three-pointers. 

Through four games Arnaman has scored 27 or more points in every game this season. On the year he leads West Branch with 115 points. 

Continuing to show promise as a sophomore, Bryce Henry led Mid-Prairie with 10 points. Through four games Bryce leads the Golden Hawks in the scoring department with 42 points.  

Seniors Landon Sullivan and Dylan Henry both scored eight. Sullivan, who went 2/2 from three-point range, recorded a team high five assists. 

Mid-Prairie 69, West Liberty 51

Securing their second River Valley Conference win in a four-day span, the Golden Hawks went on the road and defeated the West Liberty Comets on Dec. 5. 

The first half was highly contested with both teams nearly matching each other in points. After a knotted up second quarter, Mid-Prairie went into halftime with a one point lead. 

Breaking through on offense after halftime, Mid-Prairie put up over 20 in the third and fourth quarter to outscore West Liberty in the second half, 46-29. Through three games, the 69 points the Golden Hawks scored in this win is their season high. 

After not reaching double digits in the first two games of the season, junior Ace Peck found his rhythm on offense and led Mid-Prairie with 21 points. Shooting 7/9 from the field, Peck scored a team high six three-pointers. 

Senior Dylan Henry nabbed a team leading nine rebounds to go along with 15 points. Henry was a perfect 3/3 from three-point range. 

It was a productive night in the assists department for junior Brady Weber. Weber provided a team high eight assists and scored 10, the first time this year he has reached double figures. 

The Golden Hawks went on the road and challenged the Wilton Beavers (3-1) on Dec. 12. Up next for Mid-Prairie (2-2) is a road contest against the Pekin Panthers (3-2) and then a home matchup against the Durant Wildcats (0-5) on Dec. 15.