BEAR RIVER HIGH – By Jessica Tanner – December 23, 2020
Christmas came early for Bear River High School sports fans as the varsity boys’ basketball team gifted them with an intense win in overtime against cross-county rivals the Box Elder Bees, 64-63, on Dec. 22, at Bear River High.
While the boys’ team fared well against Box Elder on Tuesday night, the Bear River High girls’ basketball team took a 53-46 loss to the Bees on the Bears’ home court.
After a quick break the boys will hit the road to play in the Juan Diego Tournament on Dec. 29-31, where they will take on Judge Memorial, Summit Academy and Mountain View. The Bears face Morgan in January before kicking off region play on Jan. 15, against Sky View.
The Bears have a 5-1 record on the season after going undefeated in their Winter Classic earlier this month. Bear River then fell to Roy High, and former Bear River basketball coach Scott Hunt, before continued their winning streak with a win against Cottonwood and Box Elder.
When asked about the win over the Bees, Bear River Head Coach Reggie Shaw said, “It feels so good, that was so much fun. The kids earned it. We have some injuries and we are down a big guy with Kase Jones being out and under the weather. He means so much to this team and we definitely missed him, but these kids rallied and worked together. I love this team, the chemistry and what we are doing right now. I cannot say enough good things about these kids.”
Although Box Elder jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, 21-11, the Bears knew that is how the game was going to play out.
“We knew coming in that the game was going to start with Box Elder jumping out on a run. I told them just withstand it, stick it out, and buckle down on defense so we get through it,” Shaw added.
The Bears outscored the Bees 13-7 in the second quarter and headed into the locker rooms down 28-24. They tried to get the momentum to shift but got further behind in the third quarter, 45-38.
In the fourth quarter the Bears proved they might have been down the majority of the game, but they were never out. They stayed resilient and outscored the Bees 16-9 to end the fourth tied up at 54.
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Overtime was a back-and-forth battle, but key plays led to a Bear River victory 64-63.
Leading in scoring for Bear River was Chase Adams, who had 17 points on the night, including the game winning shot. Jace Jacobsen was next with 12 points, while Gherig Marble followed close behind with 10. Caleb Barfuss contributed nine and Easton Lish added eight. Lish had two key steals - one to take the Bears into overtime and the second to secure the win in overtime.
“It was a team effort, but three guys in particular come to mind,” said Shaw. “Chase Adams was fabulous down the stretch. He came to the rim and finished, made free throws and defended their guards really well. Easton Lish is resilient on defense and had a key stop there that put us in overtime and then some key plays in overtime that gave us the win. Then there’s freshman Gherig Marble, who came in and played like a senior. I was real proud of him.”
“There was a moment that every person on this team shined and that is what we need. I am proud of all of them. We got it done with defense and they knew they would have to do it as a team,” Shaw added.
Looking ahead to what the Bears are facing, Shaw is pleased with where the team is, so far.
“Our defense is fabulous. We have a couple things to fix there, but not much, which is a great feeling. Offensively we get a little stuck sometimes and have to find ways to get some movement. We will work on that over the break and be ready by the time we get to region,” he said.
Be sure to watch a highlight of the overtime win on Bear River Live’s Facebook. The next game to be streamed for the boys will be against Sky View on Jan. 15.
Watch all the action at www.brlivestream.com/live
Photos by Andy Marchant Photography