Liberty boys beat Olathe East in tourney semifinals

Tuesday January 20, 2009 7:00 PM
Team (Record)	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	Total
Raymore-Peculiar (9 - 16)	14	6	6	16	42
Olathe East (18 - 4)	15	13	11	7	46

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Source: The Star

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The second step of the Liberty redemption tour is now complete.

The Blue Jays knocked off Olathe East 73-61 on Thursday night in the semifinals of the Liberty Tournament.

It was the second straight game that the Blue Jays defeated an opponent who had handed them a memorable loss last season. Last year, Olathe East defeated Liberty on a last second three-pointer in the finals of the same tournament.

“It was definitely in the back of our minds,” said Liberty guard Kevin Starr, who had a team-high 21 points. “I know I was thinking about it, and I think the rest of our team was, too.”

In the opening round of the tournament, Liberty defeated Fort Osage, who had ended the Blue Jays season last year.

On Thursday, Liberty quickly jumped out to a nine-point second-quarter lead. The Hawks battled back though and led late in the first half before Starr hit a jump shot just before the buzzer to give Liberty a 29-28 lead.

Liberty answered with a 13-0 run in the third quarter to take a double-digit second-half lead. Once that happened, a rowdy Liberty student section got into the game.

“Once they started hitting shots, their crowd really got into it,” Danny Mundweiler said. “It sort of rattles you. It makes it hard to play.”

Olathe East got the bulk of its offense from Bruce Reed on the inside. He finished with a game-high 23 points.

The victory puts the Blue Jays in the finals for the third straight season. Liberty last won the title in 2003.

Lee’s Summit West holds onTwice it looked like Lee’s Summit West was going to pull away from Raytown South, and twice the Titans watched the Cardinals storm back.

In the end though, Lee’s Summit West survived its semifinal matchup to beat Raytown South 73-66.

“We just tied a knot and hung on,” Lee’s Summit West coach Michael Schieber said. “This was the first close game we have had in a while, so it was good to see our kids come out and respond.”

The Titans had a balanced scoring attack from Michael Dixon, who finished with 22. Todd Fletcher added 20.

Raytown South was paced by Rian Pearson, who had 28 points. Pearson scored eight third-quarter points and played a big part in a run that tied the game 36-36 early in the half.

The Titans again extended their lead to double digits before having to hit free throws down the stretch to hang on.

THURSDAY: Liberty boys tournament and Bishop Miege girls tournament.

TODAY: Lee’s Summit, Liberty, North Kansas City and Spring Hill boys tournaments, and Shawnee Mission South and Blue Valley North girls tournaments.

submitted by COLE YOUNG - 2009-01-23 00:15:01