Beech Tree News Network

WHITESVILLE - The Butler County Bears experienced heartbreak on the road in a 12th District boys' basketball game against a longtime rival. Host Whitesville Trinity managed to edge the Bears 64-63 in a 12th District boys' basketball game on Friday night. 

Prior to falling short, Butler County outscored Whitesville Trinity 29-21 in the fourth quarter. 

With the loss, Butler County dropped to 9-13 overall and 2-4 in the 12th District.

Whitesville Trinity improved to 15-13 overall and 4-2 in the district with the win. 

The victory allowed Whitesville Trinity to claim the number one seed for the upcoming 12th District Boys' Basketball Tournament.

Whitesville Trinity and Butler County swapped leads during the 12th District boys' basketball matchup. The Bears thrived early on in the district contest. Starting strong, Butler County outscored Whitesville Trinity 14-3 in the opening quarter and owned a 23-19 lead at halftime.

But Whitesville Trinity heated up after intermission.

Dominating in the third quarter, Whitesville Trinity outscored the Bears 24-11 to move ahead. 

Whitesville Trinity used a balanced offensive attack to notch the district win. Cameron Wright led the Raiders with a team-high 15 points. White was the only Whitesville Trinity player to reach double figures in the scoring column. 

Zach Roberts scored nine points while Dalton Crisp and Will Edge added eight points apiece for the Raiders in the winning effort. 

Ethan Howard (six points), Zach McDowell (six points), Landon Hall (five points), Trenton Morris (four points) and Joe Brown (three points) chipped in with additional scoring for Whitesville Trinity in the  win. 

Continuing his high-scoring ways, Will Moore led Butler County with a game-high 28 points.

Caleb Beasley scored 13 points and Brennan Grubb added 12 points as three Butler County players reached double figures in the scoring column.

Jaden Hurt scored seven points while Hayden Hodge posted three points for the Bears in the heartbreaking loss. 

Butler County, Whitesville Trinity, Edmonson County and Grayson County will make up the field for the 12th District Boys' Basketball Tournament, which will tip off in less than two weeks. 

The Bears will enter the final week of the regular-season with regular-season games remaining versus Glasgow, Frederick Fraize and Hancock County. 

* * * 

Bears fall to Muhlenberg County in battle of high scorers

MORGANTOWN - Butler County came up short against visiting Muhlenberg County in a boys' high school basketball battle featuring two of the Third Region's top scorers. In the end on Thursday night, Muhlenberg County, behind a career-high 42 points from senior guard/forward Will Nofsinger, defeated the Bears 76-66.

Familiar region rivals, Butler County and Muhlenberg County hail from separate districts. 

Senior guard Will Moore, who was pitted against Nofsinger, his fellow high scorer, paced Butler County with a team-high 26 points.

With the loss, Butler County dropped to 9-12.

Muhlenberg County improved to 11-12 with the win.

Nash Divine joined Nofsinger in double figures for the Mustangs, scoring 10 points. 

Muhlenberg County fared well early, outscoring Butler County 21-16 in the first quarter. But the Bears battled back, outscoring Muhlenberg County 18-13 in the second quarter to tie the game 34-34 prior to halftime.

After being deadlocked with Butler County at the break, Muhlenberg County outscored the Bears 13-10 in the third quarter and pulled away to win late. 

Muhlenberg County shot 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field. The Mustangs were 12-of-24 from 3-point range, faring even better beyond the arc.

Muhlenberg County shot 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free throw line. 

Nolan Davis added eight points and Alex VanHook contributed six points for Muhlenberg County in the victory.

Other scorers for Muhlenberg County were Trey Boggess (four points), Landon Gunterman (three points) and Noah Phillips (three points). 

Caleb Beasley followed Moore in double figures for Butler County, scoring 17 points. 

Butler County was 22-of-57 (38.6 percent) from the field. The Bears were 6-of-21 (28.6 percent) from 3-point range. 

Butler County shot 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the free throw line. 

The Bears controlled the backboards, outrebounding Muhlenberg County 38-27. 

Brennan Grubb added eight points and Parker Rice contributed seven points for the Bears in the setback. 

Rounding out the Butler County individual scoring, Jaden Hurt and Hayden Hodge posted four points and three points, respectively. 

Rice paced Butler County on the backboards, grabbing nine rebounds. 

Both Butler County and Muhlenberg County are headed into the postseason.