With about a minute left in the fourth quarter of Friday’s matchup between Iowa City High and Liberty, Trey Hughes snatched a steal and ran down the court.
As his shot made its way inside the basket, Hughes let out a scream that hyped up the crowd.
“It’s really hard to describe [the feeling] because it’s kind of just an in-the-moment thing,” Hughes said. “But it was just a ‘Well I saw it there; I’m going to take it and I’m going to take my chances and hopefully convert’. And that really helped our team. It brought energy to us.”
Hughes —who picked up his 13th point of the night with the bucket —pushed Liberty boys basketball out of a tie with City High in the last minute of the game. A couple of possessions later, Hughes grabbed a clutch rebound to seal it.
The Lightning (4-6) defeated City High, 59-58, and snapped a four-game skid. The Little Hawks (4-8) have now lost eight of their last nine games.
“We needed this one coming in,” Hughes said. “[We have] a few losses to really good top-10 teams so I think this is really going to help us going in the next week.”
Heading into Friday’s matchup, Liberty had lost four straight, with their last game being a loss at Linn-Mar. Three days later, they had a chance to turn things around in a rivalry game, and they took advantage of the opportunity under the bright lights.
“I’m happy for our guys. We had a tough stretch,” said Liberty coach Ryan Kelly. “We needed to come out and play well, and then to get a win like that against a cross-town rival in the environment that we had and to win a close one, I think this is something that can hopefully push us forward.”
Friday’s matchup was a seesaw battle, but Liberty made defensive stops, grabbed much-needed rebounds and hit free throws to help extend their lead. Bad shooting and mistakes made by City High helped Liberty’s cause.
Liberty junior guard Maddoc Coapstick, who contributed 15 points, made a pair of free throws with under a minute left in the game. He also made long inbound play to help Liberty stay in possession.
“Maddoc had a good game,” said Liberty’s Stephen Cain. “Those two free throws that he had at the end of the game after I passed him the ball, those were really big for us, really big.”
Liberty has won its last five matchups against City High, dating back to the 2021-22 season. Liberty faces a big test when they host Cedar Falls (8-2) on Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Liberty boys basketball defeats Iowa City High in rivalry game
