The Eagles boys basketball came up one game away from becoming champions in the Parkway West Classic losing to Hazelwood Central 77-56 on Friday, Jan. 26. The result came after two victories in the closing seconds.

Liberty defeated both Parkway South and Parkway West by identical scores of 56-55. They won the first game of the tournament off a shot at the buzzer from Andy Jorris to get past South.

Coach Sodemann liked the way the Eagles played their second game against Parkway Central a lot more. He thought the team was a lot more competitive throughout the game and played all around better basketball than they did against Parkway South.

In the championship game against Hazelwood Central, Liberty started out on fire throughout the first half. They led 18-15 after the first quarter. In the second half, they were still scoring but just couldn’t catch up to the offense of Hazelwood Central.

Jayce Catchings scored a game high 18 points and Kale Catchings scored 11 points along with 7 rebounds. Both Kale and Jayce Catchings were named to the all-tournament team.

After finishing the tournament, the Eagles (13-6 record) look to finish on a strong note to win the conference. They are undefeated at 4-0 in conference play along with Fort Zumwalt South, who is 6-0.