Hometown SportS Liberty dominates Heritage, holds sole possession of first place in BVAL

By Juan Cebreiros Correspondent

The Liberty Lions mauled cross-town rival Heritage Patriots 82-46 on the Lions’ home court Jan. 25 as they dominated the Patriots in every aspect of the game. At one point, the Lions even managed to lead by 40 points.

Lions head coach Jon Heinz had been critical of his team’s inconsistent energy level this season, but with the win against Heritage, he called it, “Our most complete game of the season.”

Both offenses started the game fast with the teams trading baskets and preventing the opposition from taking more than a fourpoint lead. But with under a minute to play in the first quarter, the Patriots offense began to sputter against Liberty’s trap defensive scheme. The Patriots’ turned the ball over on three straight possessions which, by the end of the first quarters, enabled Liberty to take a 24-14 lead.

The Patriots never recovered and the Lion’s lead continued to increase as the game went on. In the second quarter, Heritage had difficulty completing passes without them being deflected out of bounds or stolen by

Liberty defenders. By halftime, Liberty had doubled Heritage’s points and led 45-22.

Going into the second half, Heritage’s offense cleaned up their first-half tendency to turn the ball over. However, they were unable to cut into the Lions’ lead as Heritage’s defense struggled to stop Liberty’s offense.

But Heritage’s offensive momentum didn’t continue into the fourth quarter. The team started turning the ball over again and had difficulty crossing half court during some offensive possessions.

With four minutes to play, the Patriots had an inbound pass stolen from underneath their own basket allowing Liberty to score an easy basket. This play discouraged some of the Patriots, who walked to the sideline after a timeout was called with their heads hanging.

Heinz credited the defense for the blowout win, explaining that its dominance allowed them to go on those scoring runs such as at the end of the first quarter.

“As a pressing team, if you get those one or two big runs a game, you’re going to win by 20 or 30 points,” Heinz said

The win over Heritage enables the Lions to sit atop the Bay Valley Athletic League all alone at 5-0. Heritage takes its first loss in league play and falls to second place at 4-1.

The Lions will hit the road for the next two games as they travel to play Deer Valley High School on Feb. 7, then another matchup with the Heritage Patriots on Feb. 9. Heritage will travel to battle Pittsburg High School on Feb. 7. All games are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip-off.