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LaBrae beats Liberty to win 13 straight
Liberty vs LaBrae
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First-half 12-0 run helps LaBrae stay unbeaten, win 13 straight
By Brian Dzenis
LIBERTY
The LaBrae boys basketball team likes to run opponents into the ground with the way the Vikings share the ball and quickly get up and down the court, it isn’t a surprise they’re running the table.
Tuesday, Liberty was able to hang around the Associated Press’ No. 2 team in the state for Division III into the third quarter, but LaBrae won, 82-59.
“You’ll see we pride ourselves on running the floor. After the first quarter, teams are usually sticking with us and at the end of the second quarter we just like to push, push and push non-stop,” LaBrae forward Logan Kiser said. “Most teams get tired and can’t keep up with our speed.”
LaBrae won its 13th straight game to stay undefeated for the year. Only Summit Country Day sits above the Vikings in the state poll.
“It looks fantastic, it’s unbelievable,” Kiser said of seeing his team in the poll. “I can’t wait to play in tournaments with these guys. These guys are my family and it’s great to have them.”
Kiser’s father and coach, Chad Kiser, is focused on maintaining the high level of play through the second go-around through the All-American Conference.
“Our big thing is not taking anyone lightly, the second time through the league is always hard,” Chad Kiser said. “Teams know what you’re doing, what you’re running, what your sets are and what to expect. The first time, you feel you’re opponent out and now there’s no surprises.”
LaBrae opened the game with an 11-2 run, but Liberty caught up to trail by seven at the end of the quarter. The Leopards (2-12) got as close as 32-30 within the final minutes of the first half, but LaBrae dashed any hopes of an upset with a 12-0 run to close out the half.
“We just got out of what we were trying to do. We lost consciousness of what we’re focusing on. We were doing everything that we were asked to do up to that point,” Liberty coach Chris Kohl said. “Then we started doing a little one-on-one and guys tried to do things they weren’t capable of doing and against LaBrae — the No. 2 team in the state — you can’t do that.
“You can’t make those mistakes and miss shots, they’ll make you pay,” Kohl said.
Liberty flirted with getting the deficit back to single digits in the third quarter, but never quite got there. With the loss, the Leopards have dropped eight straight.
Kohl is in his first season at Liberty after stints at Lordstown, Struthers, Cardinal Mooney and Mineral Ridge.
Kohl has been a teacher at Liberty for 30 years.
“Even if our record doesn’t show a volume of victories, it’s been a lot of fun. These guys come to practice everyday,” Kohl said. “They work hard and I couldn’t ask anything more of them and there’s a lot of frustration. I feel bad for them. I don’t think they anticipated this kind of season.
“We try to encourage them every single day at school and I have no complaints,” Kohl saidd.
Logan Kiser had a game-high 19 points for LaBrae. Aaron Iler added 15 points and Mike Eakins, Tariq Drake and Carlton Brown each scored 12 points.
It’s awesome that we pass the ball and share the ball really well,” Kiser said. “We have enough scorers to have everyone contribute evenly.”
Andree Bowers led Liberty with 17 points and the only other Leopards player in double figures was Kevin Hahn with 12 points.