Hurricanes are Lehigh Valley Conference Champs

Liberty High School’s boys basketball team lost two regular season Lehigh Valley Conference game this season – one to Easton and the other to Nazareth.

So, the Hurricanes had every reason to enter the LVC tournament with a chip on its shoulder in the hopes of avenging both those losses.

Liberty did just that Friday night, following up its Wednesday night defeat of Easton with a 56-50 victory over defending champion Nazareth to earn the league tournament title in front of a raucous, capacity crowd at Freedom High School.

On the girls side, Nazareth’s bid at an LVC title fell tantalizingly short as the Blue Eagles rallied from an early 11-4 deficit, but eventually fell to Allentown Central Catholic, 26-25.

The Hurricanes (20-4) overcame a slow start and a 34-point performance from Nazareth’s Chuck Dibilio to annex their second league tournament crown in three years.

Yet, Liberty coach Chad Landis credited his defense for adjusting enough to shut down the rest of the Blue Eagle offense.

“Defensively, we had to mix it up a little, and go from zone to man, because they got a bead on what were doing and adjusting to it,” Landis said. “We fell behind and knew we had to get a shooter in there, so we inserted Pat Donnelly and he stepped up and made some key shots.”

The sophomore guard hit three long three-pointers, including two during a 16-3 third quarter run that gave the Hurricanes an eight-point lead they would never relinquish.

Senior Darrun Hilliard poured in 19 points, including eight fourth quarter free throws to lead Liberty. Senior Izel Dickerson chipped in with 11 points, while Donnelly finished with 13 more.

“I feel great for Darrun and all the seniors, because this two out of three years for them,” Landis said. “Nazareth’s had our number, we don’t matchup that well with them and who knows, we may see them again in the Districts. You never know with the seeds.

Nazareth coach Joe Arndt also credited Liberty’s defensive effort.

“We’re a team that averages 60 points and they had us down to 50,” he said. “You’ve got to give them credit. Their defense slowed us down. We’ll rebound, get everybody back on the same page and get ready for Districts,” Arndt said.

Dibilio put on one-man show, twisting his body in the paint making shot after shot, including an impossible three-pointer at the buzzer of the first half with a defender draped all over him.

“We had great heart, but they came out in the second half strong. We had problems matching up and it doesn’t matter how many points I had,” he said. 

BOYS FINAL

NAZARETH (50)

Kristopher Kent 1 0-0 3, Drew Hercik 0 0-0 0, Shane Seibler 0 0-0 0, Matthew Rothrock 0 0-0 0, Bryce Higgs 2 3-6 7, Chuck Dibilio 11 9-12 34,  Branden Kline 2 0-0 4, Karl Keglovits, 0 2-6 2. Totals: 15 14-24 50

LIBERTY (56)

Izel Dickerson 2 7-9 11, Pat Donnelly 5 0-0 13, Chevon Williams 0 1-2 1, Greg Noack 0 0-0 0, Dante Holmes 2 3-4 7, Alex Akabogu 2 0-0 5, Darrun Hilliard 4 10-12 19. Totals: 16 20-25 56

Nazareth – 12  5  9 24 – 50

Liberty – 6  9  21  20 – 56

Officials: Bob Bennett, Jack Keiter, Dave DeYoung

Fouled Out: Nazareth: Hercik; Liberty Akabogu

3-point goals: Nazareth: Kent, Dibilio (3); Donnelly (3), Akabogu, Hilliard