LaBrae nips Liberty in thriller

Danny Hartman scored the winning basket with five seconds remaining.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LEAVITTSBURG -- The LaBrae High boys basketball team keeps finding ways to win games.
LaBrae's Danny Hartman grabbed a missed free throw by Liberty's DeShawn Crenshaw and raced the length of the floor to score a layup with five seconds remaining.
The score gave the Vikings their first lead since early in the second quarter, and when John Pugh grabbed Liberty's errant inbounds pass, that sealed the win for LaBrae.
Pugh sank one free throw with 1.2 seconds left, which enabled LaBrae to escape with a come-from-behind 56-54 Trumbull Athletic Conference victory.
Tops standings
LaBrae (11-1, 6-0) remains on top of the conference standings ahead of Lakeview (6-1).
"Another night in the TAC," said LaBrae coach Gregg Isler. "We kept hanging in there and hanging in there. We got a couple of defensive stops that we turned into easy baskets, but I don't know that we had many leads tonight."
Second-half rally
The Vikings rallied from second-half deficits of as many as eight points and trailed 49-44 with 4:38 left in the game.
Junior Jason Frederick made back-to-back baskets, which tied the game at 49-49, but Liberty's Joel Marshall and Crenshaw both scored, which pushed the lead back to four points with 1:34 remaining.
LaBrae turned to junior Todd Rowan, who was having a monster game in the second half.
Rowan scored a basket and on the following possession knocked down two free throws, which tied the game with 22 seconds left.
Rowan scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the final two periods.
"Our offense went through Todd a lot tonight," Isler said. "He was able to get the ball in close and turn and shoot."
Despite Rowan's effort, Liberty had a chance to put the game away late.
Crenshaw was fouled with 11.1 seconds left by Rowan and made the first of two free throws, which gave Liberty a 54-53 lead.
When Crenshaw missed the second free toss, it allowed Hartman -- LaBrae's sophomore and leading scorer -- to become the hero.
"These kids never give up," Isler said. "It just becomes kind of a blur as we make those plays and then all of sudden we're standing at the end."
Stellers disappointed
Liberty coach Burt Stellers was disappointed with his team's effort at the end.
"This game is a reflection of how we're practicing right now," Stellers said. "If we continue to make mental mistakes throughout the course of all these games, it's going to continue to cost us."
Stellers was critical of his team's decision making at times and of players not being where they were supposed to be on the court.
"We're not playing real smart right now," he said. "If we do some things throughout the course of the first three quarters mentally, we might not have been in the situation down the stretch."
Liberty (9-3, 3-3) controlled most of the game with solid play from a group of experienced seniors, who have 10 seasons of varsity action under their belts.
Marshall led the Leopards with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Bradley Fletcher added 12 points.
Brandon Cornwell also scored 10 points, while Joe Lopez scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds.