As any coach knows, the best time of the year to begin playing your best basketball is tournament time in March and ninth year Gibsonburg head coach Brent Liskai is no different.

Liskai’s Golden Bears (11-10, 7-5 SLL) have won five of their last six games and defeated Western Reserve High School (18-4) 62-42 last Thursday en route to its first Division III sectional championship since the 2006 season.

“Not many people gave us a chance against Western Reserve,” said Liskai, whose Golden Bears will compete in the TAAC next season. “Western Reserve has knocked us out the past few years. It was a sweet moment seeing my kids get to cut down the nets for the first time. They just believe in themselves and hopefully our success will continue and we can cut more nets down.”

Junior guard Gage Beaber has been an instrumental part of Gibsonburg’s success this season.  Beaber, who is averaging a team best 15.1 ppg, scored 19 points in his team’s win over Western Reserve, 12 of them in the second half to lead the Golden Bears to victory.

Gibsonburg seniors leading the way are Jeremy Halmke(left) and Nick Sneider(right) with Coach Brent Liskai in the middle. (Press phot by Doug Hise)

“Gage gets better every game,” said Liskai.  “He thrives in the tournament situation because he is one of the most competitive kids I have ever coached.”

The 5-10 Beaber isn’t the only player on Liskai’s squad who thrives off the competition.

Another junior, 6-3 wing Nate Yarborough, doesn’t back down from the competition. Yarborough led all scorers with 20 points in the win over Western Reserve and is averaging 11.5 ppg and 5.7 rpg.

“Nate’s turned it on here lately,” said Liskai.  “He has a nice shot and is an outstanding defender.

“Our kids don’t get easily intimidated.  They’ll compete with anybody.”

Liskai credits his team’s competitive nature to the competition they faced in the SLL this season.  During late December and early January, Gibsonburg found itself in a funk, staring at a 4-7 record, having dropped seven of eight games — four to league opponents.

“With a young team those bad stretches happens. I kept telling the guys to keep working and it would pay off.  Sure enough, it has paid off.  They’ve kept improving and this is the best time to be playing our best basketball.”

Since January 25, the Golden Bears have put their foot on the gas and left their losing stretch in the dust, winning seven of ten, and outscoring opponents by an average of 13 points per game.

“We have really settled into our roles and trusted one another,” said Liskai.  “Earlier in the season, we would rush shots, but now we are very confident and playing as a team.”

Another player who has come on strong during his team’s recent success is 6-3 junior forward Logan Jones.  Jones is tied for second on the team in scoring with Nate Yarborough (11.5 ppg) and leads the Golden Bears in rebounds (8.7 rpg).

Logan is our inside force — he can step outside and create matchup problems.  He’s a great passer from the post.  His physical play helps our team and his versatility will be key as we get deeper into the tournament,” said Liskai.

Liskai couldn’t be happier with his team’s newfound success and isn’t ready for it to end anytime soon.

“We need to take it one game at a time.  At this point in the year, it’s either win or go home.  We can’t wait ‘til next year, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

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