Photos Courtesy of MP Sports Social Media (Nicole Miller)

The Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk boys basketball team wrapped up the regular season Thursday in Wellman with a 72-57 loss to the visiting West Branch Bears. Trailing just 15-12 after the first quarter, and holding the Bears top two scorers, Holden Arnaman and Reese Trepanier without a field goal in the games first eight minutes, the Hawks saw the Bears sprint to 18 straight points in the second period and a 22-3 run in total to take a 39-21 lead into halftime. After break, Mid-Prairie would cut the Bears lead to 12 on three separate occasions, but would get no closer.

West Branch outrebounded the Hawks by 12 and pulled down 14 offensive boards. The Bears hit 10 threes to Mid-Prairie’s eight and won the turnover battle 17-7. Arnaman led the way for West Branch with a game high 24 points. The Golden Hawks got 15 points each from Brady Weber and Bryce Henry. Weber added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. The win clinched the outright River Valley South Division title for West Branch with their 11-1 mark in league play at 16-6 record overall. The Golden Hawks stand at 11-9 on the season, 5-6 in conference and open the playoffs Monday hosting Cardinal.