By Amanda Perkins
Mountain View, MO – When the MVBT-Liberty Eagles and the Licking Wildcats face off, it’s guaranteed to be an exciting competition, and Friday night’s contest was no exception.
“It’s a tough game, a tough atmosphere, and it’s always hard to come down here and try to get a W,” said Licking head coach Ben Glasgow. “I’ve been here at Licking for eight years and this is the first time I’ve beat them on their home court, and it took a pretty good effort to do it.”
The state-ranked Wildcats opened the game strong with sharpshooter Nathan Wilson connecting on three shots from behind the arc for 11 of the team’s 13 first quarter points. Liberty didn’t have an answer, and put up just 5 points in the frame. The visitors maintained their lead in the second, 27-18.
The teams entered the fourth with Liberty trailing by 10. Propelled by two big three-pointers from Brenton Bush, the host team reduced that lead to just four points, 47-43, with two minutes left to play. But the comeback was thwarted as Licking made good on their free throws down the stretch, winning 57-48.
“We did a really good job of taking care of the ball, and they can really force turnovers. But they slowed us down in a lot of ways – we got a little too slow at times – but we made just enough plays to get it done,” said Glasgow.
Liberty head coach Yancey Walker said his team let the Wildcats get a quick start, but he was proud of the Eagles’ fight. “I thought our effort was good,” he said, “I just thought our execution was a little bit off, whether it was a half step late or just a little bit short on a shot. Some of that is just that it’s our third game in a week. That’s not an excuse, it’s just the reality of the situation. Those were shots that were going down last night. Some of that’s their credit, too; they’re a lot longer than the team we were playing last night, and they were pretty active in their zone. But I was proud of how our guys came back and fought and made a game of it… we just needed an opportunity to get something else and it just didn’t happen.”
Glasgow noted the strong play of his senior tandem, Brady Smith and Nathan Wilson.
“Brady is a good finisher at the basket and always makes some big plays, and he just does a lot. Defensively he shuts down a lot of shots on the perimeter at the top of that zone – we have the luxury of putting an athlete at the top of it – and it really makes a big difference. Nate had a big game, and they were hard-fought points. He hit from the perimeter early, and then when they came out and extended we used him on the inside, and then he did a really good job at the free throw line down the stretch.”
Wilson led all scorers with 29 points.
Coach Walker said Brenton Bush played well defensively and hit some big shots, and Josh Pruett had solid play on the night. Shalin Stout, who had 14 points going against three Licking bigs, “is really coming into his own,” said Walker.
“I’ve known Coach Glasgow for several years now,” he added, “and I’ve never seen his team play a game where they weren’t prepared and they’ve beat themselves. I’ve never seen that. They are well-coached, and credit for the win goes to them and hopefully we’ll get another chance at them.”
Coach Glasgow also gave credit to his competitor. “Yancey did a good job,” he said. “They are battle-tested, physical, and they are a good team. It was a tough game, and we will see them again. It’s a nice win but it’s not the end of it.”
Scoring for Licking: Nathan Wilson, 29, Brady Smith, 12, Clabe Sullins, 6, Tristen Morelan, 4, GT Nicholson, 3, Dillon Smith, 2, and Terrance Hale, 1.
Scoring for Liberty: Josh Pruett, 16, Shalin Stout, 14, Brenton Bush, 7, Mathew Coatney, 6, Koel Orchard, 3, Andrew Holden, 2.
