Patriots survive Raiders in OT

A pair of free throws from Trevor Arnold gave Liberty Middle an eight-point lead over visiting Moore County Middle with 5:15 to play.

However, a furious comeback by the Raiders knotted the game at 40-all at the end of regulation.

The lead changed hands for the fourth and final time in the extra frame when Tyler Bean knocked down a jump shot with 24 seconds on the clock to ease Liberty in front by a point and they held on for a 47-45 win Monday night.

"We got out of our sorts for a minute, but then we started getting back into our flow," Liberty coach Andy Lawson said. "We hit some big shots and free throws. I'm proud of our guys, they were cool and collective under pressure."

An Arnold basket meant the advantage swapped for the fifth time in the first quarter, which ended with the Patriots (7-2) in front 12-8.

Kyle Cunningham netted nine of his game-high 17 points in the second stanza, including a layup 2 seconds before the horn, to put Liberty up 27-15 at the break.

"We felt pretty good at halftime," Lawson said. "We didn't want to make too many adjustments, but we knew we had to adjust to what they were fixin' to throw at us. They've got some great athletes."

The hosts maintained a 32-26 advantage entering the final period before Moore County (6-3) rallied.

"I think the story of this game is whoever attacks the basket well, especially at this level, they capitalize on that because either you're going to the line or hit the shot," Lawson said. They attacked the basket very well, picked us apart. We didn't take charges like we should've."

Arnold finished with 15 points, including a 3-for-5 effort at the foul line. Ben Boyce scored nine.

Dylon Smith came up in the clutch for the Raiders with all six of his field goals coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. He totaled 13 points, as did Dillon Davis. Cole Boyce had 11.

Liberty 36, Moore County 10 (G): The Lady Patriots got scoring contributions from nine different players to help them improve to 9-0.

A 10-0 first-quarter lead put the Red, White and Blue in a comfort zone early.

"It gets the pressure off of them and lets them relax a little bit more and just play ball," Liberty coach Jennifer Gray said.

The Raiderettes (3-6) didn't get their second field goal until Guinn Jacobs just beat the clock to slim their halftime deficit to 16-4. Despite towering over all players on the court, Jacobs was held to just one more field goal the rest of the way.

"When you can put pressure on the wings then it's harder for them to see (Jacobs) open," Gray said.

Liberty's full-court pressure suffocated the visitors throughout, and the Raiderettes managed a total of just three field goals.

"I don't think we've reached our full potential of pressure. We're still about half speed, but everyday we get better in practice," Gray said.

Hannah Calvert's 10 points led the Lady Pats. Kimme Bayne followed with nine and Holli Mitchell six.

Liberty takes on Community Middle in Unionville on Thursday. The girls tip off at 6 p.m.