Liberty Opens Up Season With A Win Over Durango, 63-36

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We had 5A Liberty take on 4A Durango last night to tip off both teams' first game of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Durango kept things fairly close in the first quarter, with Liberty holding a 17–12 lead. The Patriots found a bit more rhythm in the second, stretching the margin to 30–22 heading into halftime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Liberty really took control in the third quarter, while Durango struggled to get shots to fall. After three quarters, the Patriots led 45–27 and cruised the rest of the way.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They had contributions from just about everyone, including [player_tooltip player_id='1493480' first='Dante' last='Steward'], [player_tooltip player_id='1463230' first='Tyus' last='Thomas'], [player_tooltip player_id='2145851' first='Evan' last='Hilliard'], Tayshawn Caeser, D'Aaron Thomkins, and [player_tooltip player_id='2640655' first='Eric' last='Alisca'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Durango, meanwhile, leaned on [player_tooltip player_id='2302752' first='Elijah' last='Outlaw McDaniel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2199605' first='Fabian' last='Gomez'] to generate offense for most of the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overall, it was a strong start for the Liberty Patriots, who will face Clark on Wednesday night (at Clark). Durango will take on Las Vegas on Thursday (at Las Vegas).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Notable Performers </em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1493480"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f016712153"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1493480' first='Dante' last='Steward'] contributed in a variety of ways to help the Patriots secure their first win of the season. He ran the floor with speed, which led to him scoring often in the paint. His top highlight was likely when he caught a perfect lob pass in transition, grabbing it mid-air and throwing it down with force. Steward also got after it on defense and delivered accurate passes throughout the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1463230"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f0167121df"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1463230' first='Tyus' last='Thomas'] did most of his damage from the free throw line last night. He utilized his change of pace and ball-handling skills to frustrate defenders, who often resorted to fouling when they got out of position. Thomas also connected on a couple of lay-ups, jumpers and a 3. On defense, he kept the Durango guards from getting clean looks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stats - 20 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1463237"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f0167122a8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1463237' first='Tayshawn' last='Caesar'] stayed in attack mode last night and scored a number of buckets for Liberty. He splashed in one 3-pointer, while also getting to the rack on some of his drives. Expect him to be a consistent scoring threat for the Patriots this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2555820"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f1f822c4e3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2555820' first='D'Aaron' last='Thompkins'] had a solid game on offense for Liberty. He was making shots from the outside and also made his way to the cup. I also liked how he leveraged his length on defense to make life difficult for his opponents.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2145851"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f1f822c405"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2145851' first='Evan' last='Hilliard'] always seems to play with some juice. He had a really nice block on defense that he swatted out of bounds. And on offense he got out ahead of everyone for a big-time dunk. He nearly had a second one not much later, but it hit off the back of the rim. All in all, it was great to see him flying around. And he should have more quality performances ahead of him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2640655"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f24b55e269"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2640655' first='Eric' last='Alisca'] played excellent defense for the Patriots yesterday. He consistently used his agility to his advantage, cutting off opponents whenever they tried to get downhill. And I liked how he stayed very with his hands. Overall, he looks ready to hassle even more guards as the season continues.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2199605"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f1f822c5bc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2199605' first='Fabian' last='Gomez'] did his best to help facilitate the offense for the Trailblazers, with mixed results. He was able to get into the paint on some of his takes, but Liberty often swarmed him with multiple defenders. However, he still managed to hit a few tough shots despite their strong defense. He also gave good effort all game long and made a couple of plays on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2302752"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-692f01671223a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2302752' first='Elijah' last='Outlaw McDaniel'] was keyed on by the defense at times, which gave him little room to operate. And although they did a great job limiting him, he did splash in a couple of shots. Outlaw McDaniel also got to the free throw line at a solid rate. Going forward, he'll need to continue being assertive for the Trailblazers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->