During its annual trip to the state tournament, the Liberty Christian boys basketball team was met by two unfamiliar opponents, one of which proved to be too difficult of a matchup. The Eagles fell 50-42 against Lighthouse Academy in the championship game, finishing second in  the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association. 

Much of the struggle for Liberty Christian came in the paint, where it didn’t  have an answer for Lighthouse’s 6-foot-8 post presence.

“They had really tall kids,” said Coach Tanner Meyer. “They had other decent players, but the problem for us was their height.”

To complicate matters, the Eagles’ mid- and long-range accuracy was off, as they hit just one three-pointer the entire game. Additionally, junior Cole Christian and senior Brayden Wilmsmeyer managed just five points a piece at the guard positions. 

“They ran a 1-2-2 zone, and we let them get in our heads,” said Meyer. “They were pretty aggressive, and we never really got into the flow of the game. We definitely kept fighting the whole time and never gave up.”

Liberty Christian trailed 10-8 going into the second quarter but struggled to generate much offense. It allowed Lighthouse to pack the paint and force the Eagles into outside shots that were not falling.

“They brought one kid high, and Cole would be able to go by him, which is exactly what we needed,” said Meyer. “Their guy would sag onto Josh (Dames), and Cole had his mid-range floater open and it just wasn’t dropping. Normally he would hit those.”

It left the Eagles relying heavily on their defense, which rose to the challenge throughout the game.

“Our defense improved a lot this year, and I felt like holding Lighthouse to 50 points was a win,” said Meyer. “Our game every game was to hold opponents under 60.”

Liberty Christian remained in contention, down just 24-20 at halftime and trailing 32-31 heading into the final period. Dames moved to the perimeter and began driving to the basket to draw fouls but was unable to close the gap.

“Josh didn’t want to lose,” said Meyer. “He grabbed the ball and drove and drove. The referees starting calling fouls on their big kid, but they were deeper than us, so that didn’t make enough difference.”

Dames finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds during his final game in an Eagle uniform. He was named first-team all-state and was also a unanimous choice for most valuable player in the Metro Athletic Conference. 

Christian was awarded a second-team all-state nod, while Wilmsmeyer, who grabbed eight boards in the title game, received honorable mention.

The Eagles received a bye in the first round and defeated Agape Christian 72-55 in the semifinal game. Liberty Christian finished the season 16-9 overall, going 10-0 in conference play. 

“We definitely improved throughout the season, and the guys have a lot to be proud of,” added Meyer.