Basketball Recap: Liberty Takes Down Ranked Desert Pines

On Wednesday, Liberty faced Desert Pines in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The Liberty Patriots came out on top against the Desert Pines Jaguars by a score of 64-51. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Patriots.

Dante Steward

Rebounds

02/05/25 vs Desert Pines	11
01/17/25 vs Durango	11
12/21/24 vs Crean Lutheran	11
12/19/24 vs Boulder Creek	11
01/24/25 @ Silverado	10
+ 17 more games

Leading Liberty to victory were Jaden Riley and Dante Steward. Riley posted 25 points and seven rebounds, while Steward dropped a double-double on 26 points and 11 boards. Steward has become a key player for Liberty: the team is 5-1 when he posts at least ten rebounds, but 7-9 otherwise. The team also got some help courtesy of Jalen Parker, who had eight points along with 11 boards and five steals.

Liberty smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 17 offensive boards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now pulled down at least eight offensive rebounds in four consecutive contests.

When it comes to explaining why Desert Pines lost, don't look at Aaron McMorran. Despite the final result, he shot 5-for-8 from downtown and dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds. The match was McMorran's third in a row with at least 15 points. Another player making a difference was Jaden Redding, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten boards.

Liberty's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-10. The wins came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 69.5 points over those games. As for Desert Pines, they have traveled a rocky road recently having lost four of their last five games, which put a noticeable dent in their 8-10 record this season.

Looking ahead, Liberty will face off against Las Vegas at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Liberty knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past 15 contests -- so hopefully Las Vegas likes a good challenge. As for Desert Pines, they will square off against Durango at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Desert Pines is strutting in with some offensive muscle as they've averaged 62.9 points per game this season.