Eagles strong second half leads to dominant win

It may not have snowed on Christmas, but the Liberty-Benton boys basketball team still took a bit to defrost on Friday, before coming alive to notch an assertive post-holiday victory. The Eagles decimated the Genoa Comets by 23, winning 63-40 at home in the Steve Williman Classic Tournament. L-B started the game slow, missing its first three shots before forward Lincoln Holler hit an and-one layup and the proceeding free throw. In fact, neither team could connect on shot attempts early on, as it was just a 3-2 Eagles advantage with just under four minutes to go. Liberty-Benton went on a 9-5 run, and the teams swapped a Jake Gerken spin layup for two Genoa free throws as the first quarter came to a close at 14-9 Eagles. The Comets rattled off five quick points to begin the second period, evening things at 14. Then, Lincoln Holler began to turn things up.Holler scored 11 of the Eagles' 13 points in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 14. At the break, L-B led by just five, up 27-22. Gerken knocked down a wide-open 3-pointer on the Eagles' first points of the third, before hitting another two-pointer just moments later. A combination of Gerken and forward Tyler Grose brought the Eagles' lead up to 10, and it only grew from there. The Eagles went on a 9-0 run and ended the third quarter up by 24. In the fourth quarter, Gerken extended his point total to 23 with another triple, as the Eagles cruised to a victory. Holler finished with 22 points, adding eight more to his impressive first-half totals. Grose added 12 points, while sharpshooter Brody Thomas (44-percent on 3-pointers) knocked down two from outside for six points. "We started off rough, that's for sure," Gerken said. "We weren't the tougher team. Then second half, we came out and we moved the ball. We really blitzed their zone. Found the open guys and got easy baskets. We just didn't really execute in the first half, and second half we came out and that changed.""Give them credit man, those kids battled," Whiteman said. "They have tough kids. I thought we missed a lot of easy ones early on, and a lot of that had to do with that I thought they were more physical than us throughout much of the game. Once our kids settled down, and we started getting the ball inside and making plays, we were able to create some space there in the second half."Genoa's first-half defense made it difficult for the Eagles early on, but eventually L-B's size became too much for the Comets to handle. Despite the struggles offensively, the Eagles' defensive efforts were able to weather the storm and allow time for L-B's offense to take shape. "I was disappointed with the turnovers," Whiteman said. "And the fact that we didn't finish some very easy shots in the first half. But our defense is kinda what we hang our hat on. We have pride, and it'll always give us a chance. Our kids really sat down. I thought Brody Thomas did a fantastic job, as he guarded number four (Genoa's Ryan Rouston) for most of the night, number four is a really good player for them. Brody really gave us a lift defensively.""We're a defensive-first team," Gerken said. "We're gonna hold teams to very little points. That's our pride right there. We're gonna work on our defense every day. After that, we have three to four guys who can score the ball. Actually, like five to six guys who can score the ball, which is really nice. We move the ball really well, and we find open people."Gerken and Holler's combination of length, size, and guard skills were enough for L-B to run away with the second half. Now 7-0, the Eagles will be back in action on Friday, hosting BVC foe Van Buren at 7 p.m."This team has been fun for several reasons," Whiteman said. "No. 1, they're great kids. And then number two, what has been unique about this team, is most of the time we have five guys on the floor that can pass, dribble, and shoot. That makes it tough to double a guy like Jake, which most teams are gonna set out to do. And Lincoln. It makes it tough to double Jake or Lincoln because we've got other guys that can do it. When this team is sharing the ball, we're at our best. It's a lot of fun to coach as well."