‘No bad wins’: Liberty North tops Lee’s Summit, will meet Fort Osage at Holiday Classic

Tournaments can’t be won on opening night — but they can be lost. There wasn’t much pretty about Liberty North’s 45-41 victory over Lee’s Summit on Tuesday night in the 43rd annual William Jewell High School Holiday Classic at the Mabee Center.

The Eagles struggled from three-point range for most of the game and shot just 4-of-9 from the free-throw line in the final 87 seconds.

But they did enough to advance to the semifinals of their division, where they will play Fort Osage (which rallied from a 12-point deficit earlier in the evening to beat Center at the buzzer) on Thursday afternoon.

The Eagles are chasing their third division title in school history, and first since 2015.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight, and I thought a couple of times were ready to take control,” Liberty North coach Cy Musser said. “Then we had a few breakdowns and kind of let them back in it, and they had no quit in them. I knew it was going to come down to the final minute. I wish it was a little cleaner, but there’s no bad wins, so we’ll take it.”

Offense came in fits and spurts for both teams, but Liberty North responded twice when pushed by Lee’s Summit.

The Tigers used an 8-0 run to tie the game midway through the third quarter — for the first time since the opening moments. Liberty North responded with a 5-0 run, punctuated by Braylen Mays’ one-handed slam.

Lee’s Summit again proved up to the challenge, scoring the next seven points to take a 29-27 lead later in the quarter. As it turned out, that was its only lead.

The Eagles scored the next seven leading into the fourth quarter and never trailed again.

Senior forward Javon Smith finished with a game-high 12 points, including draining all but one of his seven free throws. With Lee’s Summit hanging back and hoping to draw offensive fouls on the 6-foot-4 Smith, he had to choose his moments to drive wisely.

“I tried to just keep the ball moving. I tried something different today,” Smith said with a smile. “We closed off pretty well. We took care of it at the end of the game. And that’s right off of the (holiday) break, so it’s huge to be able to take care of the ball with no turnovers at the end.”

Musser has seen Smith’s ability grow alongside his physique over the last few years.

“He’s really come into his own. He’s not just an athlete playing basketball right now, he’s really becoming a basketball player. And the more he touches the ball inside, the better we are,” Musser said.

Liberty North sophomore Jack Huyser finished with nine points. Lee’s Summit was led by 11 points from senior guard Elijah Martinez, while Patrick Yokley scored nine off the bench.

The Eagles now have a day off before trying to finish off 2022 on a high note.

“We know how special it is to play here on championship night, but we also know that’s not possible unless we’re ready on Thursday,” Musser said. “All that Friday stuff is neat, but it doesn’t mean anything unless we’re ready.”