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Bad night in Bealeton: Liberty boys, girls fall
Both the Liberty boys and girls basketball teams were, in essence, a couple of shots from sweeping Friday night's doubleheader with Loudoun Valley in Bealeton. But those shots would not fall for the Eagles, turning a promising night ugly.
The Eagle girls dropped a 42-37 decision, and the boys followed with a 60-57 loss.
The latter loss may prove particularly damaging - Loudoun Valley and Liberty ended Wednesday in a three-way tie for third in the Cedar Run District at 6-3, along with Culpeper. Valley got the best of Liberty for the second time this season courtesy of a stellar fourth quarter.
LHS led 51-45 after three and hit the final frame's first bucket for an eight-point lead. Valley responded, though, with a 15-0 run that put the Vikings up 58-53 with 1:45 left. The host Eagles scrapped within three, but a desperation Steve Yates triple try at the buzzer fell well short.
"We should have had that one," Liberty forward Brad Thiesing said after his team's six-point fourth quarter. "We let it go."
The Liberty girls (7-3 Cedar Run) sang a similar tune following their loss. In a defensive slugfest, Liberty led 6-5 after one quarter, but trailed 22-20 at the break. Valley (3-7) extended its advantage to 33-26 after three quarters, and led by as much as 11 in the fourth quarter.
Liberty rallied here, too, forcing a Valley turnover down 40-37 with 11 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they committed a turnover off an out-of-bounds play and Valley hit two free throws for the clincher.
"I thought we played a little flat tonight," LHS coach Ellen Allen said. "I can't take anything away from Valley, they did a good job defensively and the shots weren't falling for us."
The Liberty boys next welcome in Culpeper on Friday night at 7:30. The girls travel to Culpeper at the same time.
For more coverage of Wednesday's boys game, pick up a copy of Friday's Fauquier Weekend.
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