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Liberty generates comfort with lead
By ERIC FORTUNE
GIRARD
Working at a disadvantage in regards to numbers via injuries and other circumstances did not bode well for Liberty boys basketball game at Girard.
But the Leopards found comfort playing with the lead and used it to turn away the Indians, 71-66, in Friday’s All-American Conference Blue tilt.
“We really only had seven available bodies,” Liberty coach Dan Bubon said. “We usually have 10. I think the first half was more just feeling things out. We had guys play more minutes than they usually do.
“Some guys were playing different spots than they usually do,” Bubon said. “At halftime, they just figured if they relaxed we’d be okay. I just thought we were more relaxed in the second half. Playing with a lead relaxes you a little.”
It was that mindset after halftime that changed the complexion of the game. After six lead changes in the opening quarter, the Indians shot 50 percent from the field in the second quarter and led by as many as seven. Then the Leopards chipped away and made it a one-point game at the half, 30-29.
Liberty’s momentum showed in the early stages of the third quarter when Liberty (3-8) made five of the first six field goals to start off the second half opening up a 10-point lead.
“They did a good job of forcing the pace,” Girard coach Craig Hannon said. “They played better. They outplayed us in every aspect. It’s up to our staff to figure out why. Pin this one on us, we didn’t look like a prepared team.”
At lot of what worked was limiting the Indians (7-7) to just one shot and speeding the game up on fast-break opportunities.
“They’re really big,” Bubon said. We thought if we could just get the rebound, our little guys could just tip it somebody, just try to grab it, and once we did secure it, we thought we could beat them down the floor. Which we did at times, but they did the same thing to us. It was really a wide open game.”
Dra Rushton was big during this point of the game scoring 10 of his game high 31 points.
The Indians were able to chip away at the margin and made it a four-point game heading into the final quarter.
Liberty continued to push the ball and overcame the late game heroics of Durrell Richardson (21 points) whose five 3-pointers in the final quarter got Girard back to within four with about a minute to play.
“He kept us in it,” Hannon said. “He did some good things. We didn’t shoot the ball real well but Durrell caught fire to keep us in it.”
The Leopards allowed the Indians to stay close because of 7-of-22 shooting from the foul line down the stretch but withstood the Girard onslaught in the end.
“We had our best shooter on the line for most of it,” Bubon said. “He just wasn’t getting any lift on his shot. It was real flat. I think after he missed two in a row, it became a mental thing.
“He was trying to guide it in when you should just trust your routine and shoot it. We haven’t been in that situation in a while playing with the lead at the end. You can practice it all you want, but it’s not the same.”