Liberty scores an impressive victory on Senior Night, 68-61

By Parker Costin, Correspondent

The Liberty High boys basketball team clinched a CIF playoff berth when they took down the JW North Huskies by a final score of 68-61 on Thursday night.

On Senior Night and the final home game of the season for the Bison, they did not disappoint the home crowd. In the first quarter, they held the Huskies under 5 points. This was thanks to senior captain Jayden Derla, who recorded 2 blocks and a steal, as well as senior Rene Delgado, who recorded a steal of his own to hold the Huskies down.

Liberty went on a massive 12-2 run in the first quarter with 3-pointers from senior captain Jaden Ortega. In addition, Rene Delgado scored 5 points with an assist. This was a repeated strategy for the rest of the first half, as the Bison were able to dominate defensively with 3 blocks from Derla and 4 defensive rebounds by Christian Davis. This led to a big 32-17 halftime lead for the Bison.

Near the end of the third quarter, Ortega went on a hot streak, sinking 3 shots from behind the arc in under a minute and 10 seconds, including a buzzer-beater to end the quarter. Ortega was a huge threat from 3-point range for the game, shooting 5 for 10 from behind the line and going 3 for 4 from inside the paint.

One of the main players for the Bison was Derla, who recorded 22 points on the night, shooting 8 for 10 from inside and 2 for 3 from behind the arc, while recording 3 blocks, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal. The other top performer was Ortega, who had a hot hand as well, scoring 21 points and recording 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal.

During the fourth quarter, the Bison offense continued their hot streak, recording 20 points and only allowing 15 points on the off side of the ball. This was thanks to their tight man-to-man defense, which didn’t crack the whole game and was able to keep a tight grip defensively against the Huskies.

Near the final minute of the game, all seniors took the court for the last time at home in the regular season. The Bison improved their record to 16-8 and look to continue their dominant run on Friday night when they take on the Tigers of Elsinore High.