Liberty blows out host Deer Valley

In the second quarter, Deer Valley opened up with two quick scores to make the score 20-17. However, this was a turning point for Liberty instead of Deer Valley. Liberty’s defense began to force turnovers, which led to Liberty scoring fast-break points quickly growing the lead back to seven. They didn’t stop there, however, as the lead grew to 39-24 going into halftime. Liberty’s defense gave up just 11 points in the second quarter, but not a single point in the final three minutes of the first half.

Any bit of momentum Deer Valley had was gone going into the third quarter with the team starting the second half turning the ball over on their first four offensive possessions. The Wolverines were stuck on 29 points for a majority of the third quarter while the Lions offense scored at will. Deer Valley scored just seven points in the third quarter while the Lions grew their lead to 25 points.

In the fourth quarter, nothing changed as the Lions’ blowout continued to the final buzzer.

After the game, Lions head coach Jon Heinz was critical of the team’s energy level early in the game.

“We have lows and highs,” Heinz said. “We gotta do a better job of keeping a consistent energy throughout the entire game. When we play with high energy we’re pretty good, but when we just kind of go through the motions, then we’re just a very average team.”

This win keeps Liberty undefeated in league play at 4-0, 13-5 overall, as they get ready for a tough week against Heritage on Jan. 24 and Pittsburg on Jan. 26 before traveling to play Freedom High School on Jan. 31. All games are scheduled for a 7 p.m tipoff.