Basketball Recap: Harmony Area Takes a Loss

Harmony Area lost against West Branch back in January and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Wednesday. The Harmony Area Owls took a blow against the West Branch Warriors, falling 89-48. While losing is never fun, the Owls can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 505th, while the Warriors are ranked 130th).

Despite the defeat, Harmony Area saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Bryson Hagens posted 16 points. Those 16 points set a new season-high mark for Hagens. The team also got some help courtesy of Parker Maseto, who earned 11 points.

Even though they lost, Harmony Area was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. That's the most assists they've managed all season.

West Branch's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Owen Koleno, who had 30 points and six rebounds. Koleno's evening made it four games in a row in which he has scored at least ten points. Another player making a difference was Joel Evans, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds.

Harmony Area's loss dropped their record down to 1-3. As for West Branch, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 3-1.

Harmony Area didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next match, a 42-41 defeat against Purchase Line on the 16th. As for West Branch, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next contest, a 65-38 victory against Williamsburg on the 13th.