Short-handed Willard falls to Liberty-Benton

WILLARD — Considering how most of the first half had gone — and considering how its week had gone — Willard had to feel OK about where it was at halftime of its Division V tournament opener with Liberty-Benton. Despite losing a starter Mason Dawson to a hand injury Tuesday, and despite trailing by as many as 16 points late in the first half, the Flashes got a straight-away 3 from and two free throws from JJ Bedingfield. They trailed the visiting Eagles by 11 points at the break. But the third quarter started ominously and Willard didn't recover. It turned the ball over on its first three offensive possessions and L-B went on a run, building a 20-point lead and then holding off the Flashes to win 61-40 inside Robert L. Haas Gymnasium. "I thought our kids battled tonight," Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. "But we can't come out, the first three, four possessions after halftime and turn the ball over. "Against a team like Liberty-Benton, that has more experience than we do, a little bit more length... we turned the ball over on out-of-bound plays, uncharacteristically, because of their length." The Flashes turned the ball over seven times in the third and 16 times overall. Liberty-Benton used that — as well as a good shooting half from 3-point range — to take control. Willard's Gage Stover opened the game with two baskets and the Flashes were up 4-0. But L-B went on a 28-8 run, hitting six first-half 3s in building a 28-12 advantage in the final minute of the half. Lincoln Holler gave Willard problems early, scoring eight points. It looked like the Flashes might get a reprieve when Holler — the Eagles top scorer — recorded his second foul early in the second quarter. But Luke Gerken came in for L-B and promptly had one of the best games of his career. Gerken — who like Holler is 6-foot-6 — finished with 20 points. Gerken hadn't even played in six games because of an injury and didn't start. "What a game by Luke," Liberty-Benton coach Doug Whiteman said. "He stepped up and made shots."Willard fell behind 43-22 when Reid Irwin made a pair of free throws with 1:47 left in the third. Willard battled back behind Jaxson Hall, who made four straight baskets to finish the third quarter. He helped pull the Flashes within 46-35 with 6:15 left in regulation. Hall finished with 18 points. But Willard never got the deficit below 11 points. Bedingfield said Willard wanted to push the pace, since L-B — with its size — might control a more deliberate game. "We were trying to get them to run out a little bit," Bedingfield said. "We got mismatched in the rotations a little bit and you're gonna have that." Willard was forced to play without Dawson, a senior starter who averaged 12.4 points per game. "Right now, I feel bad for him; an unfortunate incident, being a senior," Bedingfield said. "You can't measure leadership sometimes, and being the first game without him this year, I thought our kids tried to do the best they could to fill that gap. "But Mason Dawson's gonna be a kid that's hard to replace." Liberty-Benton, now 16-7, will travel to Lakota for a rematch with Genoa (23-0), which knocked the Eagles out of the postseason last year. JJ Bedingfield added eight points for Willard, which finished its season at 18-5. LIBERTY-BENTON (16-7) Reid Irwin 3 3-4 10, G. Latta 0 1-2 1, Cooper Conaway 1 1-2 3, Brody Thomas 3 4-4 12, Lincoln Holler 3 7-10 15, Luke Gerken 8 3-7 20. TOTALS 18 19-29 61 WILLARD (18-5) Kaleb Weaver 1 1-2 3, Jaxson Hall 9 0-0 18, Jacob Beamer 1 2-2 4, Jonas Tackett 1 0-0 2, JJ Bedingfield 2 2-2 8, Gage Tackett 1 1-2 3, Gage Stover 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 16 6-8 40 Liberty-Benton 15 13 18 15 — 61 Willard 8 9 13 10 — 40 Three-point goals: Liberty-Benton 6 (Thomas 2, Holler 2, Irwin, Gerken); Willard 2 (Bedingfield 2)