Entering the MAC tournament as the third seed, the Liberty Christian boys basketball team knew it was going to be tough. While the championship game did not go their way in an eventual 52-34 loss to Westwood Baptist, the Eagles defied expectations to advance as far as they did. 

Liberty Christian won the first round of the tournament 49-39 against the Christian Academy of Greater St. Louis. In the semifinals, the Eagles defeated Heritage Classic 43-31, a team they had previously lost to 46-34 earlier this season. 

“They executed the game plan to perfection and they have a 6-foot-7’ kid, so we put Tommy Meyer on him, and he was exceptional. He took him man to man and Tommy kept him from getting involved,” Head Coach Butch Clark said. 

The exciting win took them to the championship match but the Eagles fell to the now three-time champions Westwood Baptist. 

Liberty Christian entered the game with one main focus to take care of the ball. However, the Eagles turned the ball over 18 times in the first half and were trying to play catchup in the second half. 

“That’s really what did us in but we gave a good effort and I’m proud of the effort,” Clark said. “Our execution stunk in the second quarter but we fought back in the third and fourth and found out we could compete with them better than what we did the first half.” 

The Eagles were down at the end of each quarter (15-7, 34-14, 46-27). 

“I asked them at halftime not to quit and they didn’t. They came out and fought hard the second half and that’s not an easy thing to do when you’re down 19 going into the fourth quarter of a championship game,” Clark said. “The last place you want to be is out on the court sometimes, but they sucked it up and did a good job from that standpoint.” 

Clark noted Westwood’s height was a tough matchup within itself, and once the Eagles stopped trying to drive down the middle and hit some outside shots, it allowed them to move the ball better. 

The plan showed improvement in the Eagles’ offensive play, as Cooper Dickson made three three-pointers in the third quarter and Willy Mueller was able to get inside the paint with seven points in the fourth quarter. 

Phoenix Obermann also recorded nine points. 

“We knew we were going to have to hit some outside shots to beat them but we just didn’t hit them early enough,” Clark said. 

After placing second, the Eagles will head into the Missouri Christian School Athletic Association tournament. Clark added there are three teams in their bracket that have beaten them before, including Westwood and Heritage. 

“We’re capable of playing any of them the whole game but we’ve got to put four quarters together and we haven’t done that yet,” Clark said. “If we put four quarters together, anything’s possible, especially if we knock down shots like we did today.”