“This is huge,” said second-year Head Coach Bear Mattison of his team’s accomplishment, “First one in school history. Our little town really showed up to support the boys tonight. It was awesome to see ..  and everyone participated in the blackout theme .. just awesome.”

Mattison expressed before Thursday’s win that he and his assistants (Kyle Bower and Travis Oakley) routinely reminded the team throughout the season that, despite the school’s many league and district championship banners hanging in the gym, there was one missing from the collection.

“The boys spend so much time in our gym,” says Mattison, “From our 6 a.m. practices to ones til 10 p.m. at night .. Not having a boys basketball district championship banner hanging in our gym to look at really has been a big source of motivation.”

The top-seeded Mounties used that motivation throughout their NTL small school title run, through their two previous District wins and in the final Thursday night, overcoming a slow start that left Liberty down 7-2 less than three minutes in. 

“We were playing a little anxious to start out the game,” says Mattison, “but I’m proud of how the guys settled in as the game went on.”

The Mounties used an Evan McTish bucket and the first of five 3-pointers from Louie Mercantino on the night to tie the game up, and another McTish score to take their first lead at 9-7 with two and a half minutes left in the opening frame. 

Liberty traded scores with Lourdes Regional through the rest of the first, getting baskets from Adynn Wheeland, Mercantino and Luke Kreger, and Wheeland’s last second basket put NPL up 18-16 as they headed to the second quarter. 

Blake Oakley opened the second with a put-back, but a pair of Lourdes 3-pointers sandwiched around a Kreger free throw gave the sixth-seeded Red Raiders a 22-21 lead with 4:30 left in the first half.

A 6-0 run put Liberty back on top but Lourdes wouldn’t go away, winning the quarter 14-13 despite two more Mercantino threes. The Mounties would settle for a 31-28 lead at the break.

Mattison had high praise for senior guard Mercantino, who finished with a team-high 18 points in the win. 

“Louie struggled shooting in the first two rounds of districts,” said Mattison, “but he really came alive tonight in that first half, hitting three 3’s.” 

The Mounties came out of the break and promptly went on a 9-0 run, opening up their biggest lead of the night at 40-28, but Lourdes Regional answered with a 15-4 run of their own to end the third down just a point, 44-43, and with all of the momentum. 

A McTish basket to open the fourth was answered by a 7-0 run by the Red Raiders, and the Mounties found themselves down 50-46 with under five minutes remaining in the game. 

Oakley hit what Mattison called a “huge 3” to pull the Mounties to within a point with just over four minutes left, and Mercantino drilled his fifth three of the game to give Liberty a lead they wouldn’t relinquish, at 52-50. McTish finalized the 8-0 Liberty run with a pair of free throws, but Lourdes answered with a three to cut the Liberty lead to one once again, 54-53. 

After Oakley finished a drive strong at the basket to put the Mounties up three with 1:01 remaining, Mercantino hit one-of-two free throws to provide what would be the final score, 57-53. 

Liberty escaped the final 52 seconds, missing four free throws, but played solid defense and forced Lourdes into a pair of missed threes. Brody Grinnell would come up with the Mounties’ eighth steal of the night with five seconds remaining to seal Liberty’s first ever District 4 title.

Wheeland joined Mercantino in double figures with 17 points, including a 4-for-4 effort from the line, and added 8 assists, while McTish had 8 points and 7 rebounds and Oakley and Kreger each scored 7 points. Oakley added 8 boards and 3 steals while Kreger had 6 assists and 4 rebounds in the win.

Mattison expressed pride in his squad .. and relief .. following the Mounties’ win, saying, “These guys have worked so hard since last season. It’s just great to see their hard work pay off. And now we get to hang a banner!”

Liberty (18-8) will continue their championship season in the State tournament, where they’ll host a first-round game next Friday. Check back here for a preview of the Mounties’ match-up when announced. 

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