In the fourth quarter, the Eagles (three seed) were down four points going into the final eight minutes of the game against Holt (six seed). It looked good for the Eagles when sophomore Carter Ashby got fouled on the three-point line, and brought the game to a one point difference by making his free throws. Back-to-back scoring and six changes of which team was in the lead in the fourth quarter made for an electric gym full of noise and support for their respective team. The intensity of the game led to a score filled last quarter, both teams scoring 19 points. Because of the equal scoring in the fourth, the Eagles came up short by four points and lost to Holt 55-51 in the first round of districts Feb. 28.

Nate Bobikiewicz started the game off by fouling within the first 12 seconds of the half, which set the tone for the rest of the game for Liberty’s fouls. Holt took advantage of the uncontested shots and made both of their free throws to put them in the lead early. Shortly after, Holt stole the ball off their press and scored an easy layup to put them up 4-0 over the Eagles in the first minute of the game.

Senior Jaden Betton kicked off the Eagles scoring by driving the lane and swishing a nice floater over Holt’s defense. The next offensive possession for the Eagles, David Richard got fouled and missed both shots. Before Richard’s first shot, a Liberty fan threw a ball onto the court and disrupted the game and Richard’s focus. 

The Eagles tied the game when senior Alex Fillner stole the ball from Holt at half court and scored a fast break layup. Holt continued scoring for the rest of the quarter due to their patience passing the ball around on the outside of the three-point line, taking good shots, and feeding the ball into their posts. Holt ended the quarter with 14 points.

The Eagles scored their points off of fast breaks, free throws, and easy layups. Ashby knocked down a three over Holt’s defense to end the quarter and put Liberty at 13 points. The scoreboard showed 14-13, with the visitors in the lead for the end of the first quarter. 

Starting off the second quarter, Betton fired a dime pass to Bobikiewicz from the opposite side of the court’s volleyball line to lead into a made layup and a Holt foul to put Bobkiewicz to the line for a potential three-point play. Sadly, Bobikiewicz missed the free throw, but luckily his layup put the Eagles in the lead for the first time in the game, 15-14. 

Another Fillner steal led to a shot for Richard, which he missed, but got fouled on. With no distractions from the crowd this time, Richard made both free throws and furthered Liberty’s lead over the Indians. Holt responded to the Eagles’ quick start to the quarter by making a three on their next offensive possession, tying the game up. 

Holt then took the lead with two made free throws, which Betton shut down quickly by tying the score back up on a fast break layup. Holt scored another layup, which the Eagles shut down again when Ashby pulled up at the volleyball line and sunk another three. Ashby’s three ended the half, putting Liberty up by one, 22-21. 

Holt scored the first points out of halftime, taking the lead back. They used this momentum into a layup, which the refs called a foul on Bobikiewicz, turning a simple layup into a three-point play. Liberty answered the intensity Holt brought into the half by scoring two back-to-back buckets. 

Holt then went on a 5-0 run with one free throw and two fast-break layups off an Eagle turnover and a rebound off a missed three attempt. Bobikiewicz broke the run by scoring a layup, which Holt responded to immediately by scoring a bucket of their own. On an out-of-bounds play for the Eagles, Betton passed the ball into Fillner who scored a left-handed layup and got fouled. Fillner missed the free throw and the opportunity for an extra point. 

From here on, the game was a battle back and forth with each team scoring on almost every possession. Holt broke this trend by going on one of the only runs in the fourth quarter, bringing Liberty’s lead down and taking it back for themselves. Most of their points were off of free throws at this point in the game, with the refs calling next to nothing for the Eagles but everything on them. 

Holt took the lead by making their free throws, and the Eagles scrambled to make up the point deficit. Bobikiewicz’s foul in the last minute and junior Evan Hargrove’s foul at 3.3 seconds left in the game put the nail in the coffin for the Eagles when Holt made both their free throws both times and increased their lead from 51-48 to 55-48. Betton didn’t give up, and scored the last bucket of his high school career on a buzzer-beater three with three Holt defenders on him. The score read 55-51 with Holt in the lead after a hard-fought game against the Eagles.