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Zoned out: Eagles upset by defense-minded Bobcats, 58-41
Last Thursday, Battlefield dominated the Liberty boys basketball team for 29 minutes, opening up a lead as large as 16 points.
So even though Liberty miraculously rallied to win that night, it was apparent that Battlefield provided the Eagles with a challenging matchup.
The Bobcats proved that notion on Monday night in Bealeton, controlling LHS again — this time for the full 32 minutes — en route to a 58-41 win in the Cedar Run District's tournament quarterfinals, ending Liberty's season.
“We won, but we knew they beat us for most of the game,” Liberty coach Pat Frazer said of Thursday's outcome. “In my mind, this is not an upset; we knew it was going to be tough.”
No. 6-seeded Battlefield (9-14 overall) showed no ill effects from Thursday, taking a stranglehold on Monday's game from the outset. Utilizing a 3-2 zone, the Bobcats stymied the third-seeded Eagles' offense.
Liberty (17-7) mustered a mere 15 first-half points and trailed by 11 heading to the break.
“We call it our 'Monster Zone,' and it's a combination of what Jim Boeheim runs at Syracuse and what Jerry Tarkanian ran at UNLV,” said Battlefield coach Al Ford, explaining the Bobcats' approach. “We knew we could cover a lot of space.”
The situation did not improve for Liberty on the defensive end, either.
As LHS center Stefawn Ross popped in and out of the lineup while nursing a left ankle injury, the Bobcats attacked the paint. Ross finished with just one point.
Meanwhile, Battlefield forwards Dion Romeo and Bryant Osei combined for 32 points, while Battlefield controlled the game's tempo.
“[Romeo and Osei] had 18 combined at the half, and we had 15,” Frazer said with frustration. “If we can't get things defensively and push it up, we have a hard time.
“We tried to do some things this time, but we just didn't get it done.”
Minus easy transition points, the Liberty offense floundered. Several of the Eagles' possessions drained nearly a minute off the clock as LHS passed around the perimeter of Battlefield's zone.
Only junior Steve Yates showed a consistent ability to get into the paint.
He finished with 18 points, but had very little offensive help. “That 3-2 zone worked a lot because we have a team of shooters and they're tall,” Yates said.
Teammate Johnny Nettles agreed: “We kind of struggled with the zone all year, we have great shooters, but we struggle with our shot.”
Recalling Thursday's rally, Liberty briefly flashed some signs of life in the second half.
After trailing 26-15 at halftime, the Eagles pulled within seven midway through the third quarter. Then, after Battlefield bumped its lead to 41-24, LHS ran off eight unanswered points.
But both rally attempts fell woefully short.
“We battled back, but you don't pull that off twice,” Frazer said.
This time, the Bobcats did not help as much, either.
Unlike Thursday's collapse, which was aided by an unending stream of turnovers, the Bobcats limited the damage Monday night.
“I got a little nervous,” Ford admitted. “We had rehearsed that knowing that our kids still aren't seasoned enough to withstand that pressure when the other team is desperate.”
The strategy paid off. Once Liberty chipped the lead down to 41-32, Battlefield scored 16 of the next 21 points to cement its victory, ending the year in a terribly disheartening way.
After all, a red-hot LHS finished in a three-way tie for the Cedar Run's regular season crown at 10-4. But Liberty was hammered by Osbourn Park on Friday in a tiebreaker game, dropping to the No. 3 seed. (OP beat Culpeper for the title.)
Monday provided the final blow, as Frazer cleared his bench, forcing the Eagle starters to quietly watch another team celebrate on their floor.
“If you don't come out ready to play, you're going to get beat,” Yates said. “You can't play sloppy against a team like this.”
Battlefield advanced to Wednesday's district semifinals at Stonewall Jackson, and will take on second-place Culpeper. OP and Loudoun Valley will meet in the second semifinal.
For coverage of Friday's Liberty-OP game, visit www. fauquier.com/news/sports.
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