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It was close for a brief time, but after that it was Liberty Hill’s time to reign as expected. The sixth-ranked team in Class 3A in the state bolted from a close encounter on Groundhog Day and whipped Llano 74-27. I don’t know if we face six more weeks of winter, but fortunately we don’t face six more weeks of the Panthers.

“We had trouble breaking the press,” Jackets’ head coach Shannon Taylor said. “We lacked consistency, in regard to making positive things happen, and the wheels came off in the second half.”

Layne Sprey reduced a 20-10 deficit to 20-15 with two free throws and a three-point field goal in the second quarter. This was so much better than the 60-13 halftime lead Liberty Hill authored at its place, January 15. The bad news was Llano would hit just two field goals after intermission.

Taylor’s team, 16-13 overall, was down 27-16 at the break. “We missed some opportunities, or the difference would have been closer than that,” he pointed out. “Good teams don’t give you a lot of chances. You had better take advantage of them when you get ‘em.”

“We were on our heels for a portion of the second quarter,” Panthers’ head coach Barry Boren declared. “We knew Llano would come back with pride after we beat them last month, but our guys finally woke up.” Locker room pep talk? “I critiqued each one, one at a time; I wanted them to think about everything that had happened.” You get the feeling the critique may not have been quite as gentle as a presidential advisor remarking to Mr. Obama on what improvements might be remembered for his next State of the Union address.

“…Farace shoots a three…it’s good! That’s his 61st three of the year…

“…It’s Farace again…he steals the ball, drives in, turns, spins, and scores…two field goals here in the third quarter, his first two of the game, and he’s averaging more than 19 points a night….

“…Lande now goes toward the basket…it’s a left handed throwaway!! And it’s good, I don’t believe it!!”

What was hard to believe, too, was Liberty Hill was in the midst of a 17-0 run that would become a 31-4 surge. The guys who woke up, but who were not wearing pajamas, boosted their command to 51-19. It was 56-22 after a 29-point third quarter attack. The finish to the period was fitting: Eli Suarez, Anthony Russo, Justin Green, and Will Stephens all missed—but Green got a second chance, and he beat the buzzer. “…and that ends an unbelievable period…”

“I really think Shannon had a good scheme,” Boren asserted, “a good scheme on breaking the press, but we eventually wore them down and scored in bunches as we can do.”

Ten Panthers scored, the same number that found the net on January 15. It seemed like everyone but Cody Lattimore had an offensive contribution.

The fourth quarter saw the 28-3 Color Purple crayon home two more threes for a total of six—three by Sam Beans. The Jackets’ Vance Bauer had a chance to hit four free throws during one visit to the line—he made three. He had gotten so many chances because of a technical foul added to a personal foul on one of the visitors. No one’s perfect, but it appears everyone is intense.

“We need to show maturity and sustain the good things we do,” Taylor mentioned. “We had some success in spurts, and we have the ability to do it long term.

“Our job is to make ourselves comfortable on the court like they do.” Coach T, who never dodges a postgame interview no matter how painful the previous 32 minutes have been, indicated that to beat good teams his squad has got to do things right trip after trip down the hardwood.

Boren acknowledged, “We have so many guys who can play, who can make baskets. There could be a night when someone isn’t scoring, and others will pick up the slack.”

Taylor’s final thoughts: “They’re good; they should go far in the playoffs.”

Boren: “We have kids who not only play hard, they love the game.”