Basketball Game Preview: Liberty Panthers vs. Shepherd Pirates

The Liberty Panthers will venture away from home to challenge the Shepherd Pirates at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that both suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Liberty came up short against West Fork on Monday, falling 72-50.

Meanwhile, Shepherd came up short against Coldspring-Oakhurst on Monday and fell 50-43. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as the Pirates came into the match with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' Texas basketball rankings (they are ranked 467th, while the Trojans are ranked 976th).

Shepherd's loss dropped their record down to 15-10. As for Liberty, their defeat was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 10-13.

Liberty came out on top in a nail-biter against Shepherd when the teams last played back in December of 2022, sneaking past 58-56. One of the biggest obstacles trying to stand in the way of that victory was Shepherd's Tristen Cullum, who dropped a double-double on 24 points and 13 rebounds. Now that he won't be playing on Friday, will it be easier for Liberty to walk away with another win? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.