Bears Pull Out the Win in Season Opener

From the start, it was easy to see West Plains had a height and strength advantage. During the first quarter, Zizzers were ahead 10-4 but soon the Bears started to make a comeback. Towards the end of the first quarter, Owen Duddridge shot a long three that put the Bears ahead 15-12. 

With five minutes left in the second quarter, the Bears were still ahead with a ten-point lead of 22-12. The Zizzers’ McCullough brought the ball down to the half court when Scottie Osborn knocked it out, lobbing it to Scooter Osborn who then lobbed it to Duddridge for a layup.

The Bears were using impressive foot work to maneuver around using a zone defense the Zizzers could not figure it out. 

Going into the second half with a score of Bears 31 and Zizzers 18, Friga and Koehler came off the bench. With 4:20 left in the third quarter, the Zizzers were battling back with McCullough, Lair and Wood bringing the score to 23-35.

With about three minutes left, Bear Gannon McGinnis went down with a sprained ankle, and Taylor Rothermich tagged in. Scottie Osborn sat out also with leg cramps. He was replaced by Koehler.

The Zizzers continued to gain, but not without a fight from the Bears. In the fourth quarter, with one minute left, the game became intense. The Bears hung on to the lead 49-43, and the Zizzers started getting aggressive. McGinnis gets fouled and brought the score to 51-43. Seconds later, Scooter Osborn got fouled: score 53-43.

With the clock running out Willow fans on their feet, the Bears pulled out the win 53-44.  Point leaders were Duddridge-19, Scottie Osborn-11, Scooter Osborn-10, McGinnis-8. Friga-4, and Colvin-1.

Next up is the Mansfield Tournament on December 6-11.