Non-district Barometer: Liberty survives spell without top scorer for win over Peabody in matchup of defending state champions

by: William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor

It had the earmarks of potential trouble for Liberty Magnet which held an 11-point lead over Peabody.

The Patriots were trying to create additional distance when they lost the services of senior guard Malek Robinson with four fouls for the remaining two minutes of the third quarter.

Instead, Liberty thrived in the absence of its best player.

Senior Chivas Lee knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 55 seconds showing and junior guard Devin Houston added four straight points, including a basket off a steal. That helped Liberty maintain its double-digit lead the rest of the way in a 60-47 victory Friday in a game played at Baton Rouge Community College.

“I’m fortunate to have a guard-oriented team,” Liberty coach Brandon White. “Malek is the heartbeat of our team. We also have guys that stepped right up in case he has to sit out which he did. This is the first time we’ve really had to play without him, but the other guys stepped up to the challenge.”

Washington exceeded his season’s 10-point scoring average with a team-high 16 points – including three 3-pointers – to lead Liberty’s balanced attack. Lee had a pair of 3-pointers and 11 points with Houston and Robinson each adding 10.

“In this program, everyone’s a key player,” Washington said. “Everyone can achieve 10-20 points a game.”

Because its home court is still being repaired Liberty, the Division I select state champion, moved its annual clash with Peabody, the Division II select state champion, to BRCC’s 2,700-seat gym.

There was more of a festive atmosphere, courtesy of Liberty’s pep band, but the high-level event rivaled that of any playoff game.

Liberty, rated second in the latest LHSAA Division I select power ratings, improved to 15-2 overall and 12-1 against in-state competition. The Patriots took exception to a 61-58 loss to Carroll following a narrow four-point win over host Wossman which hosted a tournament last weekend.

“Everything was a learning experience,” White said. “I challenged these guys to get back to the way we play basketball.”

This was the fourth straight year Liberty faced Peabody which is coached by Naismith Hall of Famer Charles Smith, the owner of 1,208 career victories and nine state championships.

The Patriots won for the third time and second straight year in the budding series which has brought together two of the state’s top programs.

“I reached out to coach Smith who has always been very helpful,” White said. “I told him I wanted to bring our program there and play them and went there three years ago. It’s a good rivalry. He brings a bus load of fans when they come here, and we bring a bus load of fans when we go there.”

Washington said Liberty’s players have plenty of respect for Smith and the hard nature his team exhibits.

“They’re a good program,” he said. “They play hard, they’re never going to quit. We just locked in and came out with the W.”

Liberty took its biggest lead of the game (51-33) on Houston’s baseline drive in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Against Peabody’s 2-1-2 zone defense, the Patriots went exclusively to an all-guard lineup where they were deliberately trying to take time off the clock.

“We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and making free throws,” White said. “That’s what the games boil down to. We turned the ball over a few times and missed a ton of free throws. We have to clean a lot of things up to continue to move forward.”

Liberty more than survived Robinson’s absence of 4 minutes, 41 seconds. 

The Patriots outscored the Warhorses 9-6 until Robinson returned to play with 5:38 remaining and Liberty leading 51-37.

“Kareem Washington’s a really good player,” White said. “I told him we needed him to be more aggressive for this team and he came out and was himself. I know Malek gets a lot of notoriety, but Devin Houston’s just as good.

“The reason I have confidence is these guys beat each other up every day in practice,” White said. “They go at one another. They are game-ready. If you can handle what’s going on in our practices, then I feel 100% comfortable with putting you out on the floor in a real game.”

Liberty’s lead shrunk to nine points (53-44) when Maliki Anderson rebounded his own missed shot with 2:30 remaining to play.

Robinson, who had four points at halftime, reached double figures with a straight-line drive through the lane before the Patriots went airborne to hand Peabody (16-2) its second loss of the season.

Kingston Jarrell got wide open for a two-handed slam dunk and Houston found Jarrell on an alley-oop dunk with 31 seconds to go.

“To have coach Smith, a Naismith Hall of Famer, that’s huge,” White said. “The one thing I know about his teams is that they’re always tough. I told my team that we didn’t want to get pushed around or anything. We’re just going to play just as tough but play our style of basketball.”

Peabody was held to 35.4% (17 of 48) shooting from the field and was just 2 of 8 from 3-point range. The Warhorses, ranked third in the Division II select power rankings, committed 24 turnovers with 13 of those coming in the opening half, and were led by the 18 points of Rashad Mitchell.

“Coach has been on me about playing defense 94 feet every game,” Washington said. “So, I just came out with the mindset to dominate on the defensive end, and the offense would come.”

Liberty shot 50% (14 of 28) in the first half, taking the lead for good (13-11) on a pull-up jumper from Washington with 1:32 left in the first quarter.

Washington and Houston combined on layups for a 23-15 lead at the 3:32 mark when Peabody’s reserve guard Connor Rosenthal made the first of his team’s two 3-pointers, and Isaiah Jones added a putback, drawing the Warhorses to within 23-20. 

Reserve Connor Franklin hit his only field goal of the game – a 3-pointer – that reignited Liberty’s offense. Jarrell added a putback and Robinson finished a difficult half with a tough shot in traffic for a 30-20 halftime lead.

“I’m fortunate enough to have some guys that have bought into our system and play very hard for our program,” White said.

Washington fueled Liberty’s most productive quarter of the game, making two of his three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the quarter for a 38-22 margin. He scored eight of his team’s 19 points and the Patriots made 64% (7 of 11) of their shots when Robinson went to the bench with his fourth foul at the 2:19 mark and his team leading by 11 points.

“Our program’s built on defense,” White said. “Our guys did a great job of defending. We knew we had to stop Mitchell and Jones. I think they stepped up to the challenge of forcing those guys into a lot of turnovers.”