By Bru Nimmons
Sports Editor
bnimmons@thepccourier.com

LIBERTY — Coming off a heartbreaking loss to Landrum, the third-ranked Liberty High School boys’ basketball team returned to action on Friday looking to get back on track against Blacksburg.

The Red Devils (17-5, 5-3 Region 1-2A) took control early and never looked back dominating the Wildcats (5-14, 2-6) to pick up a 70-53 win.

“We were up 25 at one point and I thought we really had a chance to extend it and blow it open, but there was some game rust,” Liberty head coach Brenden Marcell said. “We hadn’t played or practiced in a while with the storm, but I’m proud of us. A lot of guys contributed and it’s nice to get back in the win column.”

While leading scorer Kendrick Jackson lived up to his billing with a game-high 20 points, the Red Devils were able to spread the ball around with eight players making multiple baskets, showing the dynamic nature of Liberty’s offensive attack.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that are very versatile and a lot of guys that can knock down a three,” Marcell said. “When we hit shots like that, it opens up stuff on the inside for Zach Welborn, who I thought was pretty dominant at times tonight. Still, it definitely starts with Kendrick. He’s kind of the engine for this team and he does so many things that make his teammates better.”

The Liberty offense looked strong from the opening whistle with early baskets from Welborn and Jackson, but the Wildcats were able to match them behind the play of Jonathan Phillips and JD Bonner. The Red Devils still managed to build a 17-12 lead after one quarter following two late three-pointers from Ethan Moses.

Keenen King kept the barrage going to start the second quarter drilling two three-pointers off assists from Griffin McClain and Welborn to increase the lead to 25-14. The Devils continued to roll, building the lead as high as 14 points only for Blacksburg to cut it to 32-21 at halftime.

The Red Devils blew the game open in the third quarter with a Welborn putback and consecutive three-pointers from Chris Mable putting Liberty ahead by 20 points. Sidney Montgomery added a dunk, while McClain and Jackson kept firing for Liberty pushing the lead to 54-30 through three quarters.

Blacksburg opened the final quarter with an 11-2 run but Liberty settled in from there to cruise through the fourth and pull out the 70-53 win.

Coming off the loss to Landrum, Marcell was happy to see his team respond with a big win amidst the high expectations his squad is facing following their trip to the Upper State championship last season, the first in school history.

“I think we’ve built a program where people just expect us to blow everybody out, but at the end of the day, we’re still coaching 16- and 17-year-old kids,” Marcell said. “It’s high school basketball, anything can happen.”

The Red Devils will still need to win out in their final region games as they try to secure the second seed in Region 1-2A but Marcell says the team is taking things one day at a time.

“All the region games are absolutely critical,” Marcell said. “We have to win out to get that second seed and that’s obviously our goal, but we don’t talk about that too much. We just focus on the day-to-day. Every day is the most important day and every game is the most important game and that’s the way we’ve approached it all year.”

Liberty 70, Blacksburg 53

BHS 12 9 9 23 — 53

LHS 17 15 22 16 — 70

Blacksburg (53) — Bonner 17, Phillips 12, Smith 7, Griffin 4, Jeffries 4, Hollifield 3, Mays 2, Padron 2.

Liberty (70) — Kendrick Jackson 20, King 8, Moses 8, Welborn 8, McClain 7, Mable 6, Kendall Jackson 5, Montgomery 4, Garrett 2, Muse 2.

3-point goals — Blacksburg 5 (Bonner 3), Liberty 7 (King 2, Mable 2, Moses 2). Rebounds — Blacksburg 21 (Smith 6), Liberty 27 (Welborn 7). Assists — Blacksburg 8 (Hollifield 6), Liberty 16 (Kendall Jackson 5).