Basketball Recap: Liberty Takes a Loss

Liberty was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They came up short against the Liberty Christian Bulldogs, falling 69-44. The Minutemen were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 41-20.

Ayden Padgett

Rebounds (Career)

02/07/25 vs Liberty Christian	11
12/04/24 @ William Campbell	10
02/04/25 vs Jefferson Forest	9
01/22/25 @ Staunton River	9
12/28/24 @ Patrick County	7

Despite the defeat, Liberty saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Ayden Padgett dropped a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Padgett a new career-high in boards. Evan Lee was another key player, putting up eight points and 11 rebounds.

Leading Liberty Christian to victory were Jisaiah Bryant and Colton Davis. Bryant posted 11 points and eight boards, while Davis went 5-for-8 to rack up 12 points. Bryant is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 54% in the last eight games he's played. Another player making a difference was Michael Chestnut, who had ten points and six rebounds.

Liberty's loss dropped their record down to 4-14. As for Liberty Christian, they have been performing well recently as they've won nine of their last 11 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 16-4 record this season.

Liberty didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 62-54 defeat against Jefferson Forest on the 8th. As for Liberty Christian, they have also already played their next game, a 58-49 loss against Glass on the 13th.