Basketball Game Preview: Desert Pines Jaguars vs. Liberty Patriots

Desert Pines is 0-5 against Liberty since December of 2014 but things could change on Thursday. The Desert Pines Jaguars will venture away from home to challenge the Liberty Patriots at 6:30 p.m. Desert Pines is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 53.3 points per game this season.

Last Monday, Desert Pines didn't have too much breathing room in their match against Desert Oasis, but they still walked away with a 53-47 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Jaguars.

Ashanti Stewart

Assists (Career)

02/03/25 vs Desert Oasis	10
01/23/25 vs Shadow Ridge	9
01/31/25 vs Las Vegas	6
01/17/25 @ Clark	4
12/11/24 @ Arbor View	3

Ashanti Stewart went supernova for Desert Pines, almost dropping a triple-double on nine points, 17 rebounds, and ten assists. The dominant performance gave Stewart a new career-high in assists. Anaiah Brown was another key player, putting up 13 points and seven boards.

Desert Pines smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 23 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Liberty faced Centennial in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. Liberty was beaten by Centennial 56-17. The game marked the Patriots' lowest-scoring match so far this season.

Desert Pines will have to keep a close watch on Neviah Nick and Satsuki Bradley, a pair of players who had a big impact on Liberty's prior game. Nick posted ten points, while Bradley scored four points.

Desert Pines' record is now 9-10. As for Liberty, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost three of their last four contests, which put a noticeable dent in their 13-9 record this season.

Desert Pines came up short against Liberty in their previous matchup back in February of 2024, falling 49-44. Can Desert Pines avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.