Game Audio Below:
Liberty won the tip but missed their first shot to start the game. The bears then took it back down the court and missed their first shot as well. But that changed quickly when both teams got their first buckets back-to-back possessions. Both teams played very fast-paced to start the 1st quarter. The bears were shooting very well from 3-point range gaining a lead over Liberty. There were hardly any fouls which made the quarter go by very fast. The 1st quarter ended with a score of 18-10, with willow hitting a nice shot to end the quarter and to increase their lead. Willow opened up the 2nd quarter with a nice 3 to go up double-digits. The eagles were struggling a little bit to find their rhythm with some turnovers and missed shots, but they slowly started to come back halfway through the quarter gaining some momentum. Both teams had struggled to get some shots to go in late in the quarter, but fouls were called sending both teams to the line for free throws. The halftime score was 29-23, with willow still having a good lead going into the next half.
Liberty started the second half with the ball and they immediately got a trip to the free throw line after a shooting foul. Liberty had strong momentum opening up the quarter going on a 6-0 run to tie up the score. Willow had to call a timeout to slow them down. Willow gained back some momentum by getting some stops on liberty and capitalizing their score to keep their lead. Liberty caught back up to Willow nearing the end of the 3rd quarter making the game very close. The 3rd quarter ended with the score of 45-39, with willow still going strong. The 4th quarter started with Liberty with an and-one to cut it to a one possession game. But willow quickly answered back with a bucket of their own. Liberty got willow down to only a 2 point lead until willow made some free throws to go back up. Liberty was then behind by only 1 point, making it extremely close. Liberty lead for the first time with only 3 minutes left, but then Colby James hit a massive 3 to immediately take it back. The game came down to the wire with the game ending. Willow was only up by two, anybody could walk away with the win. Wilow had 20 seconds with the ball and a tie game, with one final shot to win. No shot was made, and it was going to overtime. 61-61 was the regulation score.
Overtime opened with Liberty with a bucket to take the lead. Willow hit a bucket to tie it back up. Willow got another shot to take the lead after a turnover from Liberty. The lead changed with almost every possession with each team potentially taking the win. Colby james had a nice steal and layup to go up by 2 with 5 seconds left in overtime. Liberty still with a chance to win it by a 3-point shot. Liberty got it, they got the buzzer beater 3 to win the game. Liberty wins with the score, 72-71.
Tonight (2-6-2026):
- The Liberty Eagles will travel to Ava to take on The Ava Bears. Game time around 7:30 on The Fox 96.9
- The Willow Springs Bears will remain at home, taking on The Thayer Bobcats. Game time also around 7:30 and can be heard on KUKU 100.3 Classic Country.
