Liberty Union rallies for hard-fought 52-47 win over Aces
BALTIMORE — Liberty Union has certainly had its share of losing close games this season, and Saturday night against visiting Amanda-Clearcreek, it looked as if the Lions were headed in that direction.
Liberty Union let an 11-point halftime lead slip away, and with six minutes left, the Lions found themselves trailing 44-37. At that point, the Aces had all the momentum, but the Lions never wavered and never panicked.
Liberty Union seemed to kick into another gear, and over the next two minutes, went on a 10-0 run. After the Aces retook the lead momentarily, the Lions finished the game by scoring the final six points, including going 3-for-4 at the free throw line.
Over the final six minutes, Liberty Union outscored the Aces 15-3 which enabled the Lions to complete the hard-fought, come-from-behind 52-47 Mid-State League-Buckeye Division win.
After starting the season with a 1-6, the Lions are playing with a ton of confidence right now. Saturday’s win was their third in a row and they have now won four out of their last five games to improve to 5-7 overall and 5-3 in the league.
“We didn’t have a lot of energy the first half, probably because we beat them the first time we played them, but we came out with more energy in the second half and we started playing better defense, which in my opinion is what led us to the win,” Liberty Union senior Jackson Brown said.
The Aces were sparked by the hot shooting of senior Tayvon Miller, who finished with a game-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half, and he finished with six 3-pointers.
Liberty Union coach Pat Blevins was proud of the way his team responded, especially after the Aces had taken control early in the fourth quarter.
“We knew this would be a tough game because Amanda has been playing really well, lately,” Blevins said. “They do a great job scouting, so they knew our stuff, and they are physical. I think when we were down in the fourth quarter, I guys were able to settle down and realized that we could still win the game.
“We were able to play through some adversity, we stayed together, grinded through it and trusted each other and made the right plays down the stretch. We’ve played in a lot of close games and we just kept believing and kept battling.”
The Aces (4-8, 1-6) deserve credit, as well, because they looked like they might get blown out in the first half, but they kept battling and had trimmed the lead to two points at halftime and had a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
During the Lions’ 10-0 run in the fourth quarter, four different players – Brown, Jacob Denney, Kalib Riddle and Landon Picirillo – all scored, but it was Brown, who has had some big scoring games this season, that seemed to fuel the rally.
He connected on a 3-pointer to give the Lions a 45-44 lead and then made a nice pass to Denney for a layup that pushed the lead to three points, and after the Aces’ Miller hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 47-47, Brown scored on a driving layup through traffic with just over two minutes left to give the Lions the lead for good.
Brown said the fact that he is playing with a sense of renewed confidence has made a all the difference in the world for him this season.
“Playing with confidence has been huge for me, and I kind of lost my confidence my sophomore and junior year, but I got that back in the offseason and that has kind of fueled me,” Brown said. “When I play with confidence, I feel like I am a different player and it has made a huge difference in my game.”
Brown finished with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists to lead the Lions. Denney had 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists and Riddle added 10 points and four rebounds. Jaden Smith chipped in nine points, six rebounds and two assists and Picirillo finished with five points, including going 3-for-4 at the free throw line.
Clayton Rhyne had 15 points, including going 5-for-6 at the free throw line, and Cade Young had nine points and six rebounds for the Aces. Peyton Cassley chipped in three points and eight rebounds.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Liberty Union rallies for hard-fought 52-47 win over Aces
