English Valleys Fourth Quarter Comeback Falls Short

NORTH ENGLISH—On January 20, the English Valleys Bears hosted the Cedar Valley Christian Huskies for a non-conference matchup. The Bears fell to the Huskies by a final score of 55-50.

English Valleys senior Myles Grove started the game off red hot, as he scored nine of the 14 points scored by the Bears in the first quarter. Freshman Kane Axmear accounted for the other five points. 

The second quarter was all Huskies, as they out-scored the Bears 18-4 to secure a 30-18 halftime lead. 

The Huskies continued to hold onto a 40-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Cedar Valley Christian started the quarter off on a 10-3 to push their lead to 50-27. The Bears responded with a run of their own. They stormed back with a 13-0 run that was jolted by nine points from senior Myles Grove. 

The Huskies found stable ground, and held the Bears to zero points in the final 2 minutes of regulation, as they won by a final score of 55-50.

After the game, English Valleys Head Coach Keshaun Kennedy spoke on the performance from senior guard Myles Grove with, “He does what I expect him to do on a nightly basis. He does it in other ways, but tonight we needed him to score and he did just that. He was really good tonight.”

Coach Kennedy has been extremely pleased with the progressions he has seen from his young team. The Bears have two freshmen starting, and one that comes off the bench. Kane Axmear has been getting more and more playing time as the season rolls on, and Coach Kennedy has been encouraged by what he has seen. Coach Kennedy spoke on Axmear with, “Kane (Axmear) has stepped up big. He has progressed immensely throughout the season, and his  basketball IQ is extremely high. If we can get guys stretched out onto the perimeter, that allows him more space to work down low.” 

It was a crazy couple weeks that had winter storms and game cancellations. Coach Kennedy spoke on how his team was excited to get back on the court. He could feel the energy from his team as soon as they stepped onto the court. “We didn’t come out flat. If anything, it was more execution down the stretch.”

The Bears fall to 1-13 on the season, and will return to action on January 22, when they face off against the #7 ranked Keota Eagles.