A commanding first-half performance by West Liberty-Salem’s boys basketball team helped send the Tigers past host Madison Plains 56-39 on Friday in Ohio Heritage Conference play.
The Tigers improve to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the OHC standings, while the Eagles fall to 3-6, 2-3.
WL-Salem’s offense got rolling early with a 14-9 run in the first quarter. The Tigers outscored the Eagles 13-6 in the second quarter to build a 27-15 halftime lead.
The third quarter saw WL-Salem stay in the driver’s seat with a 13-8 run. That put the Tigers on top 42-23.
Matthew Loffing sparked the Tigers with 14 points, Holden Nease had 12 points, Nick Burden tallied 11 points and Eli McGill and Jack Eggleston both added seven points.
WL-Salem’s junior varsity team improved to 7-0 with a 32-26 win over Madison Plains. Owen Johnson paced the Tigers with 16 points and Cam Strapp had 11 points.
In freshman action, Madison Plains edged WL-Salem 21-19. Matthew Jones and Andrew Kimball each had six points for the Tigers.
WL-Salem hosts Greenon on Tuesday in an OHC meeting.
WL-SALEM 56, MADISON PLAINS 39
WL-SALEM (6-1, 5-1)
Loffing 5 4-5 14; Siegenthaler 1 0-0 2; Burden 5 0-0 11; Eggleston 1 5-6 7; Nease 4 3-4 12; Harrison 1 1-1 3; McGill 2 3-4 7. Totals: 19 16-20 56.
M. PLAINS (3-6, 2-3)
M. Johnson 4 3-4 11; Stires 2 1-3 5; L. Johnson 1 0-0 2; Gammell 2 0-0 4; Sollars 1 0-0 2; Garrison 2 0-0 5; Bryant 5 0-0 10. Totals: 17 4-7 39.
Tigers 14 • 13 • 13 • 14 — 56
Eagles 9 • 6 • 8 • 16 — 39
Three pointers: WL-Salem 2 (Burden, Nease); Madison Plains 1 (Garrison). Team fouls: WL-Salem 14; Madison Plains 16.