WAPANUCKA – The Moyers Tigers were just a little too much for Bennington on Thursday night as the Bears opened up regional tournament action with a 58-37 loss.

“They (Moyers) are a really quick team and they shot the ball well,” said Bennington coach John Talley after the game. “They sure didn’t miss very many three-pointers tonight.” The Tigers started the game with a full-court press that forced several Bennington turnovers. Moyers also moved the ball quickly and efficiently in transition and led 20-9 at the end of the first quarter.

The Bears started to gain ground in the second quarter and a three-pointer from Isaac Perez made it 33-23, Moyers.

With a little over a minute left in the first half, Ryan Lott scored on a nice dish from Chance Haislip to make it 33-25 at halftime.

“We came out a little scared in the first quarter but we didn’t give up and were able to close the gap in the first half,” said Talley. The Bears were unable to carry their momentum over to the second half and were outscored 12-5 in the third quarter.

The Tigers played tough defense and the Bears only scored twelve points in the second half. Lott led all Bennington scorers with 10 points. Perez finished with 7 points and Haislip and Tad Holt each finished with 4 points.

The Bears now head to Ada where they will take on Paden in the next round at 3:00 p.m. on Friday.

Midway Lady Chargers – 63 VLA Lady Eagles – 38:

The Victory Life Academy Lady Eagles will have their backs to the wall after a loss to Midway on Thursday. The Lady Chargers led wire-to-wire after holding the Lady Eagles to just two points in the opening quarter.

The Lady Chargers forced several turnovers and shot the ball well from the free-throw line to take an 18-2 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Lady Eagles started to hit some shots on the offensive end. Amy Roesler knocked down two three-pointers for VLA but the Lady Chargers still held a commanding 35-16 lead at halftime. Midway continued to dominate in the second half and led 48-25 at the end of the third quarter.

Macie Bufkin led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 12 points. Amy Roesler and Sarah Roesler each finished with 8 points. Amber Bruce scored 4 points and Sierra Kinnamon finished with 3 points. The Lady Eagles will play again on Friday at 1:00 p.m.