When the regional quartertfinal approached critical mass at the end of the third period, the pendulum swung in favor of the Panthers, who posted a 58-53 victory over the Hornets in a game played before a sizeable crowd of passionate followers on both sides of the venue.
“We had our opportunities,” Gatesville coach Brian Edwards said. “We kind of gift wrapped it for them. Down the stretch, we didn’t take care of the ball, didn’t make our shots and (6-foot-3 junior standout) Dominique (Moore) fouled out. Even when he doesn’t score, he’s a presence on the court.
“We’d make runs to take the lead and then we’d turn the ball over. We just didn’t finish the game.”
“We took advantage of things and hung on down the stretch,” explained Liberty Hill coach Barry Boren. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.”
It also was a milestone victory for Boren.
“It was our 30th win and that’s the most I’ve ever had in a season,” he said.
Liberty Hill (30-3), which led by as many as seven points twice in the first half and one at the popcorn break, took a major step toward the victory when Moore fouled Michael Farace on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer ending the third period.
Farace dropped all three free throws to put the Panthers up 41-37 with eight minutes to go.
“It was a crucial three points,” Edwards said.
However, Gatesville, which finished the year at 28-7, rebounded to take the lead twice by one point in the fourth quarter (46-45 and 48-47). A free throw by Hornets guard Kevin Walters tied the score at 49 with 2:15 to play.
Farace, a 5-11 junior, then put Liberty Hill ahead to stay with a reverse layup at 51-49 with 1:46 to go. The Panthers would close out the Hornets by making seven of eight free throws in the final 1:02. Senior guard Cody Sandy sank 4-for-4 and Farace then made three of his four attempts.
Two free by Alex Aviles allowed Gatesville to slice the lead to 55-51 with 40 seconds to go. Fifteen seconds later after a Liberty Hill turnover, 6-7 Garrett Johnson put in a rebound to make it 55-53. He was fouled but missed the free throw.
With 18 seconds remaining and the score at 56-53, Gatesville had a chance to come down the court for a game-tying 3-pointer, but Liberty Hill stole the ball and nailed its final two free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining.
Moore, who was averaging 20 points a game, was held to just four points as he sat on the bench for extended periods and eventually fouled out with 54 seconds to go.
“They were trying to keep him in check,” Edwards said. “He didn’t take some of the shots that I thought he should have instead of passing the ball off, but that’s part of being a junior. Next year, he’ll take more of a leadership role.”
“We had something devised for him, but they came out and did something different,” Boren said. “We felt he would get frustrated if he didn’t score and it looked like he forced some things.”
Both teams received strong guard play. Bryan Cobb, probably a little shorter than his listed height of 5-8, led the Hornets with 16 points and harassing defense. Sam Beans, a 5-10 sophomore, had 15 points for Liberty Hill while fellow backcourt mates Sandy and Farace both added 12.
Liberty Hill’s tallest player - 6-4 Patrick Graves - also was bothered by fouls but put down 13 points. Garrett Lam, a 6-6 senior forward, was the No. 2 pointmaker for Gatesville with 11.
Edwards did feel his team played well defensively.
Liberty Hill will play Seminole, which beat Graham 57-51, Friday in the regional semifinals.
