Senior basketball player Mia Gamble is joined by family members on Senior Night, Jan. 26.

OKANOGAN – The Brewster varsity boys’ basketball team took a measure of revenge on the road at Okanogan on Jan. 30, with a 52-48 win over the Bulldogs on their home court. But the always dangerous hosts did not go down without a fight, whittling down the Bears’ double-digit lead to just four points when time ran out.

“We got a good win, although not playing that great at times,” said head coach Michael Taylor. “We would much rather be frustrated with a win than with a loss.”

The second league meeting of the well-matched teams began reminiscent of their earlier game, in which Okanogan won by a single point, 47-46, in the final minute of play. The Bears and Bulldogs changed leads on the way to a 14-13 Brewster lead.

The Bears built a gradual eight-point lead through halftime, 32-24, behind the 16 first-half points of Brady Wulf, and held it all the way through the third quarter, 38-31. 

“We had opportunities to pull away by double digits, but Okanogan didn’t let it happen,” said Taylor. “They made some good runs and kept us close enough to have some chances in the end.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Bears were up by 14 when the Bulldogs began chipping away the points until they were with five, 48-43, in the closing minute. That is as close as they got as last-ditch fouls sent Wulf to the penalty stripe twice to sink four of his six free throws on the night.

“We made a poor decision and threw the ball away at the end of the game but lucked out with a travel call,” said Taylor. “I figure we would have had a tough time holding on to the win if that hadn’t happened. We both advance to districts to battle it out for seeding to the crossover.”

Bradey led all scorers with 29 points, followed by Mario Camacho, Jr. with seven, Cort Gebbers with six, Karden Gebbers with four, and three apiece for Grant Baker and Henry Miller.

Lady Bears fade in fourth

A fourth-quarter Okanogan defensive zone was just enough to interfere with the Lady Bears’ offense and force key turnovers to give the Lady Bulldogs the edge they needed to win their rematch with Brewster, 55-50. Until then, the give-and-take between the league leaders saw the scoring lead change sides throughout the first three quarters, with several ties along the way.

Pepper Boesel’s back-to-back three-pointers got Brewster off to a fast start, but Okanogan quickly tied the Lady Bears, 6-6, and the race was on. The Lady Bulldogs led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, but Brewster took a one-point 31-30 lead at halftime.

The teams were knotted 31-all at the end of the third before the combination of turnovers and missed shot opportunities tilted the balance Okanogan’s way in the final minutes.

Kara Schertenleib led Brewster’s three double-digit scorers with 14 points. Morgan McGuire added 13, and Boesel 12. Paige Wulf scored six points, Gimena Hurtado and Grace Becker each had four, and Kaydence Carrington had two.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media