Life on the road in the River Valley Conference is never easy, but the Mid-Prairie boys and girls basketball teams withstood West Liberty Friday to score a sweep over the Comets. The No. 15 in Class 3A Golden Hawk girls needed overtime for a 66-58 win. The game was played in a tight window with the Hawks up four after one, but a 10-0 Comet run in the second gave them a 23-19 lead at the half. Mid-Prairie tied the game at 39 going to the fourth and things were still deadlocked at 52 after regulation. The Golden Hawks went on a 14-6 run that lasted all of overtime to get the win. The KCII Golden Hawk of the Game Brylee Gearhart joined the postgame show live to talk about the victory.

Gearhart said, “Our three-pointers weren’t really falling in the first half, but it was open to get the ball in the lane. It’s important to get a good box out and being able to read the ball, whether it’s short, or long, or where around the hoop you need to be. Izzy (Kite) and Brooklyn (Schneider) had some deep threes tonight. We really carried over the energy we had from the success in the volleyball season over to the basketball season. It’s been great to see us all play together!”

The Hawks won turnovers 23-16, had 19 steals, 15 assists and made eight second half threes, despite being outrebounded by four. Gearthart had a monster 18 point, 12 rebound double double, starting for the injured Callie Huber. Brooklyn Schneider had a game high 23 points, including six threes. Kylee Daufeldt and Pearson Hall combined for 43 points for the Comets. The Hawks improve to 7-0 as West Liberty falls to 4-5.

The drama continued in the nightcap with a 63-61 Mid-Prairie boys win. The Hawks led 10-8 after one and found themselves up 25-24 at half. The margin was still one after three at 37-36. The outcome came down to the final play, with Mid-Prairie up two, and West Liberty holding the ball, a Cael Daufeldt three point attempt at the horn circled the rim twice, before falling off, as the Hawks breathed a sigh of relief. Following the win, the KCII Golden Hawk of the Game Kaden Kos joined the postgame show live to talk about the night.

Kos said, “We just have to be able to fight through the adversity and put yourself out there on the line. Be willing to win as a team. Be a team-player. It’s about going at guys and even being willing to go through people if you have to. (On the last play), we knew that if we just played physical defense, it was going to be a hard shot. I like how everyone plays as a team. Everyone comes together, we fight together and figure out ways to win!”

West Liberty won the turnover battle 22-12, the Hawks won the boards by seven. Bryce Henry led the Golden Hawks with 20 points, his fifth straight game of 20 or more. In his return from injury, Ace Peck posted 17, including four threes in the third frame. The Comets got 25 from Ryker Dengler. Mid-Prairie’s unbeaten run continues now to 7-0 as West Liberty drops to 3-6.