Liberty Bell’s Tyler Darwood, No. 25, launched a jumper against Brewster in the Mountain Lions’ loss to the visitng Bears.
By Don Nelson
After absorbing a 41-point loss to Brewster, the Liberty Bell High School boys’ basketball team rallied for a come-from-behind win over Manson in the second of two home games last week.
The Mountain Lions’ 47-46 victory over the visiting Trojans on Dec. 13 seemed possible for three quarters even though the home team trailed by five with eight minutes to play. Liberty Bell turned possibility into reality with a determined fourth quarter in a contest that was not decided until, literally, the final second.
The Mountain Lions battled to a 10-8 lead with a minute to go in the first quarter, but Manson finished with five points for a 13-10 lead. Liberty Bell reclaimed the lead in the second quarter, 18-16, and things stayed close up the final minute, when Liberty Bell trailed 26-25. Once again, Manson closed out with more scoring to take a 30-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The Mountain Lions kept the margin at five points through the third quarter, which ended with Manson up 36-31. Senior Simon Studen’s three-pointer with about 30 seconds left in the quarter kept it that close.
Sophomore Nolan Falcon-George also canned a trey to bring Liberty Bell within two, 38-36. Sophomore Dusty Patterson then arced in another trey to give Liberty Bell a 39-38 lead with about four minutes left in the final quarter. The Mountain Lions built the margin to four points, 44-40, thanks to a jumper by sophomore Tyler Darwood.
Manson scored the next two buckets to knot things at 44 with two minutes left. The teams traded baskets and arrived at the 2-second mark tied, 46-46, when Falcon-George was fouled and awarded two free throws. He missed the first and made the second, putting Liberty Bell up 47-46.
Manson heaved the ball down-court, and Liberty Bell’s Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega committed a foul while contending for the ball. But the Mountain Lions were not in a penalty situation, so instead of free throws Manson got the ball back with 1 second left on the clock. The Trojans’ last desperation shot failed, and Liberty Bell claimed its second win of the season.
“The Manson game was a gritty win,” Liberty Bell coach Kyle Acord said. “We’re still working on cutting down on turnovers, but the guys had a nice comeback and I thought they played with confidence down the stretch.”
Falcon-George had his best game of the year and led Liberty Bell’s scoring with 14 points. Studen had eight points, and senior Owen Hevly contributed eight rebounds.
Against Brewster on Dec. 11, Liberty Bell fell behind quickly, 16-2, by midway through the first quarter. The first frame ended with the Bears ahead by 27-6.
The Mountain Lions played evenly with Brewster in the second quarter, which ended with the visitors extending their lead by one point, to 36-14.
The Bears cranked it up again in the third quarter and led 53-21 going into the final eight minutes. The Mountain Lions added only five points in the fourth quarter, which ended with a final tally of 67-26, Brewster.
“Obviously, the first quarter was a killer for us against Brewster,” Acord said. “Too many turnovers, and they executed against our zone defense really well. The second and third quarters were better, but too big a deficit to overcome.”
Patterson was Liberty Bell’s top scorer with 11 points. Studen grabbed seven rebounds.
Last week’s games left Liberty Bell with a season record of 2-4, 2-2 in league play. The Mountain Lions hosted Bridgeport on Tuesday (Dec. 18). They will visit Soap Lake on Friday (Dec. 21). Over the Christmas break, they will take part in the Entiat Tournament, along with Bridgeport, Pateros and the host team, on Dec. 27-28.
Brewster 67, Liberty Bell 26
Brewster 27 9 17 14 67
Liberty Bell 6 8 7 5 26
Owen Hevly 5, Tommy Knox 2, Nolan Falcon-George 0, Dusty Patterson 11, Simon Studen 0, Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega 4, Tyler Darwood 4
Liberty Bell 47, Manson 46
Manson 13 17 6 10 46
Liberty Bell 10 15 6 16 47
Owen Hevly 5, Tommy Knox 0, Nolan Falcon-George 14, Dusty Patterson 7, Simon Studen 8, Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega 6, Tyler Darwood 7, Shay Crandall 0
Scoring through six games: Dusty Patterson 43, Owen Hevly 39, Simon Studen 36, Lucaas Gonzalez-Ortega 35, Nolan Falcon-George 26, Deken Smith 21, Tyler Darwood 11, Shay Crandall 7, Tommy Knox 6
