WARRIORS TAKE ROUND ONE AGAINST HEATED RIVAL

BELOIT OH- The West Branch boys basketball team had lost two straight games and were looking to pick up a win. They welcomed their arch rival Salem to Beloit and the Warriors walked away with a gritty 60-47 victory. West Branch scored 60 points which was one of the best offensive scoring nights they have had all season.

Salem started off strong when they were able to jump out to a 10-1 lead. Coach Brown immediately called a timeout to calm his Warriors down. He said “ I can’t even remember what I exactly told them, but obviously it worked.” West Branch never looked back as they forced a number of turnovers and outscored the Quakers the rest of the game. Junior Guard Jaxon Robb played a big role defensively having many deflected passes in the game. 

Joey Jackson had a solid night as he led the scoring with 16 points for the Warriors. Thomas Egli wasn’t far behind with 15 points and a number of rebounds. Cooper Anderson and Jeremiah Thomas each added 8 points respectively. Finally, Michael Kanagy and Jaxon Robb each chipped in scoring as well.

For Salem, Caden Swiger had a good night scoring with 16 points and Lance Bailey had 15 as he knocked down four three pointers. Salem’s turnovers hurt their attempt to come back from their deficit . West Branch forced over 20 plus turnovers with a great defensive effort.

With the win, West Branch improves to 5-5 and (2-3) inside the EBC. The Warriors will Travel down to Minerva this Friday for a game at 7PM. Salem drops to 4-6 with the loss and (1-4) inside the EBC. The Quakers will welcome Alliance this Friday. The Aviators are 5-0 in the EBC and bested Salem 93-60 the first time around.

*Contributed By YSN’s Michael Ginocchi