West Liberty-Salem’s boys basketball team got to work from the opening whistle and put away host Northeastern 65-45 in Ohio Heritage Conference play.
The Tigers improve to 9-6 overall and 6-4 in the league standings, while the Jets drop to 5-4, 4-3.
WL-Salem got rolling in the first quarter with a 20-12 run. Northeastern edged WL-Salem in the second quarter 12-11, but trailed 31-24 entering halftime.
The Tigers found a spark in the third quarter with a 20-5 run. That vaulted the them to a 51-29 cushion. The Jets rounded out the scoring in the fourth quarter with a 16-14 effort.
Tanner LeVan fueled the Tigers with 20 points, Owen Johnson tallied 13 points and Nick Burden added 12 points.
In junior varsity action, WL-Salem rolled past Northeastern 51-39. Hayden King and Andrew Kimball both led the Tigers with 18 points.
WL-Salem hosts Fairbanks on Friday for its next OHC contest.
WL-SALEM 65, NORTHEASTERN 45
WL-SALEM (9-6, 6-4)
Burden 4 4-4 12; Johnson 4 1-2 13; Strapp 3 0-0 6; Brown 2 1-3 5; LeVan 8 2-2 20; Saylor 4 0-0 9. Totals: 25 8-11 65.
NORTHEASTERN (5-4, 4-3)
Frenzen 2 0-0 4; Allen 2 2-2 8; Patterson 1 0-0 2; Nichols 5 1-3 11; Webb 2 2-2 6; Bush 5 2-3 14. Totals: 17 7-10 45.
Tigers 20 11 20 14 — 65
Jets 12 12 5 16 — 45
Three pointers: Northeastern 4 (Allen 2, Bush 2); WL-Salem 7 (Johnson 4, LeVan 2, Saylor). Team fouls: Northeastern 13; WL-Salem 14.