Phenom Hoops kicked off the season in a big way with the Carmel Christian Tip-Off Classic, bringing in some of the premier talent and teams from around the region under one building in Charlotte.
Day 2 continued as Legion Collegiate and Liberty Heights battled it out in Charlotte. Liberty Heights picked up on defense full-court to create turnovers, which ultimately led to a few easy buckets and a 10-point margin with a minute left in the first quarter. Quentin Houston hit a big three at the buzzer, as Liberty Heights led 18-11 after one.
Legion though started to settle down and the outside shot started to fall from deep, as they eventually took a narrow lead with three minutes to go before halftime. But Liberty continued to pound the boards and create second-chance opportunities, as we had a back-and forth affair from then on. Going into halftime, Liberty Heights scored a few late buckets to give themselves a 33-26 halftime lead.
The third quarter was a game of small runs, as Liberty Heights was able to make a small run to widen their lead and Legion Collegiate would answer right back, eventually cutting it to a one-possession game by the end of the third quarter 48-46.
We had ourselves a game in the fourth, as both teams ended up trading the lead for much of the fourth quarter. That was until Liberty Heights came up with some big shots and key turnovers to grab a lead by four points with two and half minutes to go. Even though Legion had chances, it was a late turnover with 30 seconds to go and a throwdown by Ezra Ausar that helped seal the win for Liberty Heights.
Final: Liberty Heights 67 – Legion Collegiate 60
Stats:
Liberty Heights: Elijah Jamison 15 points/ Ezra Ausar 9/ Cinque Lemon 8/ Jalen McDonald 7
Legion Collegiate: Shane Blakeney 24 points/ Quentin Houston 14/ Marcus Kell 9
