Playing at home on Friday, February 12th, the Bears took on a big rival, the Mountain Grove Panthers. The Bears came out strong ready to fight for a win.

In the first half, the Bears played very good and got a lead on the Panthers from the start. The Bears continued to play strong, and at the half, the score was Bears-31, Panthers-25.

In the second half, the Bears played great and continued to extend their lead. The Bears built a double digit lead, but the Panthers were not going to give up yet. In the fourth quarter, the Panthers made their way back into the game to catch up to the Bears to make the game close. Then with 33 seconds left, Grove took its first lead of the game. A few seconds later, Steven Mallow made a lay-up to put the Bears back in the lead. With 13 seconds left in the game, Preston Ary drove to the basket, but Allen Braiser blocked the shot to secure the win. The final score of the game was Bears- 58, Panthers- 57.

The junior varsity also had a good night winning thier game as well. The leading scorer for the Bears was Clint Harper with 18 points. The leading scorer for the Panthers was Chris Shannon with 19 points. The Bears played a good game and won to a great rival for the second time by one point.

“We made just enough plays at the right time. I’ll take it. It feels like we stole won,” commented Coach Mallow.