Brody Heifner and Kysen Lamb each scored 27 points as Belmond-Klemme defeated West Fork 74-52 on Thursday night to earn a spot in the Class 1A District 2 final.
West Fork opened the game with a pair of quick baskets from Zander Hansen to take a 4-2 lead, but Heifner answered with a drive to the basket to tie the game and converted a free throw after drawing a foul to give the Broncos a one-point edge. Belmond-Klemme never relinquished the lead and took a 23-15 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Broncos built a 14-point lead by halftime and pushed the margin to 15 entering the fourth quarter. Belmond-Klemme outscored the Warhawks by seven in the final period to seal the victory.
Ayden Bonner led West Fork with 17 points, while Hansen added 15.
Belmond-Klemme Head Coach Justin Meyer credits Heifner and Lamb’s production to unselfish team play.
“Credit to our guys, we did a good job executing the game plan, not getting perimeter heavy, getting the ball to Brody when he’s open,” Meyer says. “So it’s really a testament to their teammates making sure when we got guys like that, two kids scoring 27 going off, continuing to get them the ball, not looking for their own shots.”
Despite the season-ending loss, West Fork Head Coach Abe Maske says the Warhawks made significant strides late in the year and positioned the program well moving forward.
“Well, you know, down the stretch probably the last month, we’ve really started to turn the corner, show where we really are, what we’re doing, where we’re going,” Maske says. “They kept fighting in the practices, every one of them, even our seniors kept fighting hard, so I think we’re in a good position. We feel good about it. This one hurts a little bit, obviously. We feel that we can play with anybody, but moving forward we feel good about it. Our seniors have left a good mark on the program and I feel good about where we’re going to be going from here.”
West Fork finishes the season 10-14. Belmond-Klemme will host North Union in the district final on Feb. 24.
