WARRIORS TAKE A STANCE
By Michael Ginocchi
Beloit, OH- The West Branch Boys’ Basketball team won their final game before tournament play by defeating Heartland Christian 64 to 42. West Branch finished the regular season with an 18-4 record and were EBC champs.
The Warriors led 35 to 23 at the half, but Heartland showed a lot of heart by cutting the lead to eight points in the second before the Warriors pulled away. West Branch will play at home on Tuesday against the 13-9 Youngstown East Golden Bears in the first round of the state playoffs. The matchup between the two teams should be an exciting first round game. West Branch won the first meeting 73 to 71 in overtime a few weeks ago.
Leading the Warriors’ offense was Jeremiah Thomas with 16 points and Gavin Gregory with 10 points. Jaxon Robb contributed 9 points and Cooper Anderson and Joey Jackson each had 8 points.
The Heartland Lions were led in scoring by Will Morgan with 12 points and Jake Walker with 11 points. Their regular season record ends with a 13-9 record. The Lions will face Southington Chalker at home on Tuesday at 7 pm. in the first round of the state basketball playoffs.
