Beaver Local’s Owen Hill goes in on West Branch’s Kasen Weaver. (Photos by Gary Leininger)

BELOIT — Beaver Local and West Branch battled back-and-forth in one of the most hotly-contested boys basketball games of the young season here Tuesday night. When the proverbial smoke cleared, it was the Beavers who walked out of the West Branch Fieldhouse with a hard-earned 56-55 triumph.

Trailing West Branch 55-54 with 1:20 left, the Beavers patiently worked the clock down for a last shot and Beaver Local’s 6-foot-2 junior forward Matt Anderson delivered when he found a crease in the West Branch defense and converted a layup with 6.7 seconds left, giving the Beavers a 56-55 lead.

“He went coast to coast there and they (the Warriors) didn’t help out and he got to the rim and that’s one of the toughest takes you’re going to see, especially with the game on the line,” said Beaver Local coach Nick Miller. “He’s a winner and he’s a tough kid.”

But the drama was far from over. West Branch worked the ball down court in the closing seconds and drew a foul on an attempted shot underneath the hoop with 0.1 seconds left and a chance to win the game with two free throws. But the Warriors missed both charity tosses as time expired and the Beavers celebrated the win.

“Tonight, we answered the bell,” said Miller. “That’s a good, physical team and they play a brutal schedule and when they’re on, they’re tough to stop. It’s a very good win, especially on the road.”

“All three years the games (with Beaver Local) have been pretty competitive,” said West Branch coach Scott Loudon, whose team suffered their first loss to the Beavers in the past three years. “Last year, I think they missed a shot at the end and this year we did.”

The Beavers really won the game at the free throw line. Beaver Local was 16-of-22 at the stripe while the hosts were 6-of-9.

“It was anybody’s game,” said Loudon. “I thought they (the Beavers) were aggressive going to the rim which got them to the free throw line, and we were not as aggressive, so we didn’t get to the free-throw line and I think that was the difference in the game.”

Beaver Local’s 6-foot-7 returning first-team All-Ohio post player Owen Hill once again took game scoring honors with 19 points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.

“It’s always tough to play here,” said Hill. “They’re a very physical team, a good football team and a couple of football players on the basketball team, so it’s always a battle underneath with the (Gavin) Gregory kid and it’s always fun.”

“Owen Hill’s a really nice player,” said Loudon.

Also finishing in double digits for the Beavers were Anderson with 14 points, including the game winner, and 6-5 Luke Rettos with 13 markers.

“We had contributions at every end,” said Miller. “Our big boys, our inside presence (was key), because I’m not so sure how many points from the outside we had but it couldn’t have been too many. Hill and (Luke) Rettos really owned the paint. They are key for us at both ends, but when they score the ball off one another like that, we’re tough.”

West Branch was led by Gavin Gregory. The 6-7 post player who is a standout tight end in football with six NCAA Division I offers led the Warriors with 17 points and five rebounds. Gregory got into foul trouble early but managed to play a key role in the contest while not fouling out.

“The two early (fouls) I thought were going to mess with him, but he did a good job,” said Loudon. “The 17 points is probably his high for the year. I thought he was good at being aggressive without making bad plays (to not foul out).”

Also reaching double figures for the Warriors were Grady Hirst and Jeremiah Thomas, two All-Ohioans from the football team, who finished with 11 and 10 points,, respectively.

West Branch went out to a 6-4 first-period lead to open the game, following a layup by Gregory with 4:47 showing, but Beaver Local answered with a 9-0 run in while holding the Warriors without a point for 7:38 from midway through the first quarter through the 4:41 mark of the second quarter. It enabled the Beavers to take a 16-6 advantage.

But despite losing Gregory to three fouls with 2:41 left before halftime, West Branch erased the Beavers’ 10-point lead to take a one-point advantage (24-23) at halftime on a layup by Hirst at the halftime buzzer.

Beaver Local outscored the Warriors 19-12 to lead 42-36 after three while setting the stage for its dramatic fourth-quarter triumph.

With the win, the Beavers improved to 8-1.

“I told our team I was so proud of them,” said Miller. “I’ve got a great group, man.”

“We’re off to a great start and I’m off to a pretty good start,” said Hill.

With the loss, West Branch — which plays an unforgiving schedule loaded with much larger schools, including Akron Garfield (8-1), defending state champ Louisville (5-3), Canfield (7-2), Austintown Fitch (6-3), Howland (5-3) and Youngstown East (6-3) — fell to 3-4 overall. However, the Warriors lead the Eastern Buckeye Conference at 3-0, including a win over once-beaten Alliance (7-1).

“Playing that tough schedule is good for us as long as the kids get over the fact we’re not going to go 18-4 or 16-6, but we prepare them for that, and we’ve won tournament games the last two years (reaching the district final) and that’s the expectation that we are prepared and capable of doing it again,” said Loudon.

Game notes

¯ West Branch rallied to win the junior varsity game over the Beavers, 54-42, as Grady Olinger scored 16 points and Brock Woost 13..

¯ Beaver Local returns to the hardwood Saturday night when it hosts the Carrollton Warriors in an independent battle.

“We’ve been away for five games so it will be good to start the new year at home,” said Miller. “They knocked us out of the district last year, so hopefully we’ll get a little revenge.”

¯ West Branch is also in action Saturday night when it entertains Canfield.

“Canfield’s a big challenge, it always is,” said Loudon. “But I think our kids will rise to the occasion and it will be another good game Saturday and hopefully we make some buckets and come out on the good side.”

BL: 13-10-19-14–56

WB: 6-18-12-19–55

BEAVER LOCAL SCORING: Owen Hill 8-2-19, Matt Anderson 4-5-14, Luke Rettos 5-3-13, Nick McKenzie 1-1-3, Aiden Dray 1-3-5, Tucker McElroy 0-0-0, Peyton Cowdery 0-2-2. TEAM TOTALS: 19, 16-22: 56

WEST BRANCH SCORING: Jeremiah Thomas 3-3-10, Gavin Gregory 8-1-17, Grady Hirst 5-0-11, Chase Gee 2-0-6, Zach Coffee 1-0-2, Kasen Weaver 1-0-3, Brock Woost 2-0-6, Landon Coffee 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 22, 6-9: 55

Three-point goals: Beaver Local 2 (Matt Anderson 1, Owen Hill 1), West Branch 5 (Chase Gee 2, Jeremiah Thomas 1, Kasen Weaver 1, Grady Hirst 1).

Total fouls: Beaver Local 11, West Branch 20. Fouled out: Kasen Weaver (WB).