Championship battle set!

Jays to battle Bulldogs in Final

After a strong second half performance against a scrappy Springfield Glendale team, Liberty advanced to the Nelson division Championship game.

The victory by the Jays, which moved them to 8-1, sets up a highly anticipated battle with their undefeated cross town rival, Kearney Bulldogs.

The game will tip at William Jewell College at 9pm.

If you can not make the game, please remember to tune in and catch the action with Dallas Ackerman on the call.

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night at Jewell!

GO JAYS!

Blue Jays into Nelson Division Semis

Game to be carried LIVE here on the internet tonight

The Liberty Blue Jay Boys Basketball Team had little trouble in their first round matchup in the Bank Midwest William Jewell Holiday Tournament with Fort Osage Monday night winning in a rout 61-20. Liberty only allowed 2 points in the second half. They Jays now advance to the semifinals of the Nelson Division tonight where they'll face Springfield Glendale in the 9pm game from the Maybee Center.

If you can't make it out ot Jewell, listen to the game LIVE tonight by clicking the "LIVE AUDIO" icon provided below. Dallas Ackerman and Kevin Starr will have the call beginning at approx. 8:45pm.

Click here and look for "LIVE AUDIO"

Players Enjoy Gift Exchange

The Liberty Basketball team enjoyed a lot of pizza, gift sharing, and each other's company during the annual Christmas gift exchange. After a completing their first semester finals earlier in the day and then having a productive practice, the players gathered at Coach Stirtz's house. Pizza is always the meal of choice and the players devoured 30 of them (240 slices). The highlight of the evening was the gift exchange. There were some very nice gifts, and of course, some humorous ones, leading to a good time for all.

The Jays program wishes you and your family the very best during this Holiday season.

Blue Jays Wake Up Early to Get Win

The Liberty Blue Jays battled Blue Valley West this morning at Avila University as part of the Hy-Vee Shootout presented by Metro Sports. The final score was 58-51 Jays. The victory moves the Jays to 6-1 on the season and an 7-4 overall record in the Shootout, which is best in the Metro.

After trading baskets in the first quarter, Liberty extended their lead to 6 points by halftime. Christian Brinser's 2 three pointers in the second quarter gave the offense a lift. Solid rebounding by Denton Koon and Austin Weese provided the Jays with an edge on the glass. Luke Lee gave his team valuable minutes off the bench with excellent defense and timely baskets.

The Blue Jays extended their lead to 10 in the 3rd quarter but the Jaguars didn't go away. A few missed layups and costly turnovers allowed BV West back in the game. The Jays led by 1 going into the last quarter.

With the game in the balance, Marshon Norfleet scored 6 big points and the Jays went 8-9 from the foul line during crunch time. Denton Koon, 21 points/12 rebounds in the game, went 5-5 from the charity stripe. Brinser added 10 points, while Norfleet and Weese chipped in 8 apiece.

"We were very pleased with how we performed during the most important part of the game, crunch time. With the score tied, our players made great reads in the motion offense and delivered the ball to a teammate for an easy basket. Brinser and Lee made some intelligent plays. Defensively we got stops and rebounds that extended our lead," stated Coach Stirtz.

The Jays will hit the practice floor a couple of times before Christmas break and then 2 more after break before they face Fort Osage in the Holiday tournament at 9pm.

Jays to Host Youth Clinic

Boys, Grades K-5, come play with the Blue Jay basketball team! During this two hour clinic, you will practice your ball-handling, passing, dribbling, shooting, rebounding, and defensive skills with the varsity coaches and players.

When: January 2nd, 2010
Where: Liberty Junior High School
Who: Boys, Grades K-5, 10:00am – 12:00pm
Cost: $10; Autographed t-shirt $10 (optional)
*Can write one check ($20) for both; t-shirts will be delivered
*Make checks payable to Liberty High School

Please register in the gym the morning of the clinic. Please bring your own basketball. If you have questions, contact Coach Roger Stirtz @ 736.6836.

Holiday Bracket Released

The bracket for the WJC Holiday tournament has been released. The Blue Jays are the #2 seed in the Nelson division. Liberty opens the tourney against Fort Osage on Monday, Dec 28th at 9:00pm. If victorious, they would face the winner of the Glendale-Smithville game on Dec 29th at 9:00pm. For a complete bracket, check our the 'Liberty Men's Basketball' website link in the right-hand column.

Hoop Team Delivers Food

The Blue Jay basketball team helped deliver food to citizens of Liberty Saturday morning. In a community wide effort to assist people in need, the players had the final step in the process of putting the food in the hands of the people of need. Liberty Public Schools, in cooperation with the Sertoma service club, promote food drives at each school building. The canned food items are collected from the schools and organized into the correct address locations. From there, the Jays' players are able to deliver food to about 100 people at two apartment complexes.

"This is the 15th year our program has participated in the Mayor's Christmas Tree Food Drive. It would be 16 in a row but one winter the weather was so bad we didn't want our players out on the dangerous roads. It's a good experience for our players to give back to the community...a community that has provided them with so much," states Coach Stirtz.

Max Francisco, sophomore, said "It was a good experience and it was nice to help people in need." Derek Brizendine, sophomore, remarked "It was very successful. It was great to see the joy that we brought people who we delivered food to."

Liberty Tournament News

“C.W. Stessman Liberty Invitational Basketball Tournament” to be televised throughout Kansas City Metro

Local high school basketball fans will have an opportunity to watch one of the premier boys basketball tournaments in the state coming up in January.

The Liberty Public Schools Cable TV Station, KLPS-TV Channel 18, will provide LIVE wall-to-wall coverage of the Liberty Invitational Boys Basketball Tournament for a 4th consecutive year. But new this year will be that all twelve games of the tournament will be simulcast on Time Warner Cable Channel 5 in the Kansas City Metro area, making games available for fans from all teams competing who have Time Warner Cable Service.

“We’re really pleased to be able to showcase our broadcasting program here in Liberty and also showcase one of the best basketball tournaments in the state at the same time,” commented Dallas Ackerman, KLPS announcer.

“With the field consisting of teams ranging in locations from Leavenworth to Olathe to Lee’s Summit, we wanted to come up with a great option for fans that wanted to follow their teams but couldn’t make the trip to Liberty and I think we’ve done that.”

This years tournament begins on Tuesday, January 19th with games at 4pm, 5:30pm, 7pm, and 8:30pm. Day 2 action resumes on Thursday, January 21st with four more games at the same times with the final slate of four games set for Friday, January 22nd all culminating with the championship game at 8:30pm.

Along with the games being shown on Time Warner Cable Channel 5, all games will also be offered on the internet at the Channel 18 website (www.klpstv.com).

Jays Capture Championship

The Liberty Blue Jays claimed first place in the Lebanon Tournament late Saturday night with a very exciting overtime victory over the Ozark Tigers. In competing in their forth game in five days, the Jays showed a lot of mental toughness and perseverance to force overtime and then dominate the 4 min overtime period to win 77-68.

Ozark, who used a zone defense to try to slow the pace and force some outside shots, were hurt by JT Nixon's three 3s...none bigger than the last two which helped force overtime and his last helping put the Jays up for good in OT. Liberty hit 8 three pointers in the game. In addition to Nixon's big 3s, Jordan Lewis added 3 also. Denton Koon's 3 point field in the forth quarter helped the Jays draw closer after entering the quarter down by 3 pts.

With some questionable defensive effectiveness during the first three and a half quarters, the Blue Jays showed a lot of toughness with the game on the line late in the 4th quarter. Down by two points, 60-62, with under a minute to play, the defense stepped up and forced a turnover. Then with 13 secs, a Marshon Norfleet driving lay up off the glass tied the game. Again, the defense played with a lot of pride by not allowing the Tigers a good shot to win the game.

In overtime, Bryan Adams got the tip, and Koon quickly hit a 15 foot jumper to give the Jays a 64-62 lead. They wouldn't let up. After another stop and Nixon's 3, the Jays started to gain control of the game. Liberty outscored the Tigers 15-6 in OT in large part because of the Marcus Lucas' and Norfleet's offensive output and defensive boards.

For the third time in four games, the Jays had 4 players in double figures: Nixon, 16; Koon, 15; Norfleet, 13; and Lewis, 11. Lucas added some very timely 9 points.

Congratulations to Denton Koon, who averaged 18 points per game during the tourney, and Jordan Lewis, 14 pt/game, for making the All-Tournament team. Lewis deservingly earned MVP honors. Other Jays, Norfleet 14 pt/game and Nixon 10 pts/game were given All-Tourney consideration.

Liberty, who will have a week off to practice, plays host to Blue Springs on Dec 15 at Cokely Fieldhouse in their next game.

Jays 71 Helias 54

The Blue Jay basketball team won their semifinal game against Helias 71-54 on Friday in the Lebanon tournament. The 17 point victory was in large part to balanced scoring and some solid half court defense in the 2nd half.
Leading scorers were Denton Koon 20pts, Jordan Lewis 17 pts, and Marshon Norfleet 16 pts. The Jays were also good from the FT line knocking down 19-25 for the game and an impressive 12-14 in the 4th quarter.
With the score tied at 29 at halftime, the Blue Jay defense went to work in the 3rd quarter. Helias was held to only 2 points during the first 6 mins of the quarter.
The Jays advance to the championship game verses Ozark at 7:30.

Jays Get 1st Round Win Over Lebanon

The Liberty basketball team moved to 2-0 in the early season with an opening round win over the host school in the Lebanon Tournament Thursday night. Once again, the Jays had 4 players in double figures. Denton Koon led all scorers with 18 points, Marshon Norfleet had 14 pts, Jordan Lewis had 12 pts, and Austin Weese added 10 pts.
The Blue Jays led by 6 points after the 1st quarter and by 10 points at halftime. The lead grew to as many 20 in the second half before ending with a final of 76-64.
"We were pleased our effort and the outcome of the game. We made some defensive adjustments at halftime and the players did nice job of executing the changes, mentioned Coach Stirtz. We have a big test tonight against Helias at 8:30pm. We'll need to play much better defense, rebound well, and limit our turnovers to be successful."

Guest Coach Speaks to Jays

The Blue Jay basketball team had the privilege of listening to Stanford Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh today before practice began. Coach Harbaugh, in Liberty to recruit senior Marcus Lucas, spoke to the team for about 10 minutes. His topic...togetherness and team play.

In an era in which society sees athletes do so much 'self-promoting' after dunks, homeruns, and touchdowns, he challenges his Stanford Cardinal team to do something different; celebrate the team. In watching the Cardinal play, they are in it for each other. In a national tv game verses Notre Dame on Saturday, Heisman candidate Toby Gerhart rushed for 205 yards and 3 touchdowns. In the interview immediately after the game, he didn't take any credit for his outstanding performance. Credit was given to his offensive line. He could not have accomplished what he did without his teammates and he quickly gave acknowledgement to them over himself.

Harbaugh also mentioned the Bible verse of Proverbs 27:17. "As irons sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." His point was at the right angle iron can sharpen iron, but at the wrong angle it can dull itself. Such is the case with a team. Being the best teammate you can be will only help the team become better and achieve its potential.

Junior guard Jordan Lewis commented about hearing Coach Harbaugh's words. "His talk about being a team was really motivating and taught me a lot about how to make my teammates better in practice and in games." Austin Weese, junior forward, also said the following, "We need to hit our swords in the same direction to sharpen them, meaning on the court we have to all be on the same page in order to be great. We need to lift each other up!"

Coach Harbaugh was given a Liberty Basketball 'WE>me' t-shirt as a thank you for taking the time to speak with the Jays.