After clinching a conference title with a 31-point win on Tuesday, things didn’t come as easy for the Mid-Prairie offense on Friday. But the end result was the same. The Golden Hawks earned a 19th straight victory with the 51-46 win over West Branch. 

The Bears cut a 12-point lead to just 39-34 in the fourth quarter, but Ethan Kos came up with a pair of huge baskets, including a putback to increase the lead to 47-39. 

Kos had both of Mid-Prairie’s field goals in the fourth quarter and Carter Harmsen was 5-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch.

“We just had to keep at it,” said senior Justice Jones. The shots were’t falling to begin with, so we had to pick it up on the defensive end.”

It was the 12th time that Mid-Prairie held an opponent to 50 or fewer points this year. The Golden Hawks have the fourth-best defense in 2A this year, allowing under 43 points per game. 

Brady Knoop hit three shots from outside the arc during the fourth quarter to keep West Branch close, but the Golden Hawks always had an answer. 

“We’ve been (in close games) with other teams,” Jones said. “We’ve been there before with West Branch too. It’s always a fight when we play them and it’s always a great game.”

Holden Arnaman had a game-high 24 for West Branch.

Harmsen led Mid-Prairie with 19 points and eight rebounds. Kos finished with 14 points, which included six in the fourth quarter. 

Jack Pennington had nine points and three assists. Alex Bean hit a big triple after West Branch had cut the lead to 27-22, and Will Cavanagh’s 3-pointer put Mid-Prairie up by 10 with a quarter to play. 

“Once again, guys aren’t being selfish,” Mid-Prairie coach Daren Lambert said. “Some nights their job is to get the ball to the guys who are on, and the ones who are open. And so overall I was  pleased with how well we played as a team. We wanted to be even further ahead with our lead and (winning margin), but you just find a way to win. I was just pleased with the mentality that we showed tonight throughout the entire four quarters.”