Basketball Recap: Reed Sparrow's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Liberty over Monroe City

Liberty lost against Monroe City back in December of 2023 and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Saturday. The Liberty Eagles fell just short of the Monroe City Panthers by a score of 41-38. While losing is never fun, the Eagles can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' basketball rankings in their respective home states (they are ranked 354th in Illinois, while the Panthers are ranked 86th in Missouri).

Liberty's loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Reed Sparrow, who almost dropped a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds. Another player making a difference was Gavin Edgar, who posted six points.

Liberty's defeat dropped their record down to 16-10. As for Monroe City, their win bumped their record up to 17-4.

Liberty has already played their next game, a 64-35 loss against Hamilton/Warsaw on the 10th. We've got a battle between Panthers coming up. Monroe City has insisted on making their last three contests complete nail-biters, turning in a record of 2-1 during that stretch of close contests.