Hubbard holds off Liberty for sweep

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

HUBBARD

Hubbard senior guard Kory Hopkinson earned a piece of cake Tuesday night, even if it wasn’t a piece of cake.

Hopkinson hit a layup with about two minutes remaining to put the finishing touches on a very misleading — and for Hopkinson, very rewarding — 66-58 win over visiting Liberty.

“My girlfriend’s mom said if I score 20, she’ll buy me an ice cream cake,” Hopkinson said.

What kind? Chocolate? Strawberry? Dairy Queen? Coldstone?

“She never said what kind,” said Hopkinson, who also had 15 rebounds. “Probably Dairy Queen. Hopefully maybe a Twix.”

Tuesday’s win gave the Eagles a season sweep of the Leopards, who finished the game on a 15-0 run over the last 90 seconds to make the final score look closer than it was.

“Not a real pretty one,” Hopkinson said. “Very sloppy.”

Tyler Duez added 19 points and Mike Lopuchovsky had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles (10-7, 4-3 All-American Conference White Tier), who raced out to a 30-14 lead against a strangely flat Liberty team.

But the Leopards picked up their pace, particularly on defense, in the second half as the game devolved into a turnover-fest, with both teams struggling to take care of the ball, make shots or find a rhythm.

When asked to describe the game’s beauty, Hubbard coach Rick Fox laughed and said, “Oh, let’s see. Missed free throws, missed layups and turnovers.

“Is that the beauty of it? Is that what you’re looking for?”

Hubbard made just 14 of 26 from the line, which was better than Liberty, which hit just 12 of 30.

“We’ve been struggling at the free throw line,” Fox said. “My guys just don’t get it. They’re free for a reason.”

The Eagles had 29 turnovers — including 18 in the second half — while Liberty had 20.

It was the fifth win in the last seven games for Hubbard, which at the very least proved it can win ugly.

“We’re not a pretty team,” Fox said. “Haven’t you seen some of my guys’ faces?”

Brian Venable scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds for the Leopards (9-9, 2-5).

Preston Williams added eight points, Jalen Mann had seven rebounds and John Rivers had nine points, four rebounds, two assists and five steals.

Hubbard earned the fifth seed in the upcoming Division II tournament. And after losing five of seven midway through the year, Hopkinson thinks the team is back on track.

“Lately we’ve been playing a lot better,” Hopkinson said. “We had a slide in the middle of the season but we’re starting to pick it up.”