December 2, 2016 – Road wins are hard to come by in the GAC as the Liberty Eagles traveled to Francis Howell Central. Friday’s contest was the opening game for the youthful Spartans who endured an up and down season last year.
The Spartans opened up fast behind an energetic home crowd to take a 19-12 lead after the opening quarter. The Eagles would answer in the 2nd quarter behind some sharp shooting from Jaylen Sims.
The Spartans opened the 2nd quarter answering a Caleb Overall drive to the basket for two with a three pointer from the corner to extend their lead 20-14. The Spartans would add another bucket and then Jaylen Sims connected on 3 point buckets on consecutive possessions for the Eagles. A minute later Overall would find Sims on the left wing for his third trifecta of the quarter giving the Eagles their first lead of the game at 23-22.
After a Brian Jones offensive rebound and put back, Blake Stricker joined the long range bomb show with a 3 pointer of his own, extending the Liberty lead to 6, 28-22. The Spartans would get back on the scoreboard to close the gap before Sims would find pay dirt for the fourth time after Brian Jones hit the floor to save the possession for the Eagles. Overall would add two free throws in the waning seconds of the first half with the Eagles leading 33-26.
The Eagles would never look back despite a late comeback attempt by the Spartans. Free throw conversions down the stretch once again allowed the Eagles to earn their first road victory of the 2016-17 season, 60-52.
The Eagles are back in action next Friday, December 9th as they host a District Champion from 2015-16 in the form of the Ft. Zumwalt North Panthers.
To view the complete stats from Friday’s game vs. Howell Central go HERE.
