The Winters Mill boys basketball team got off to a better start against Liberty in the first half of the Class 2A West Section 2 quarterfinal Friday night than the team's meeting two weeks ago.

But the ending looked all too familiar to the visiting Falcons.

Liberty won its third straight over Winters Mill with a 69-53 victory and advanced to the next regional playoff round.

"We realized we weren't playing with enough toughness or energy in the first half," Liberty sophomore center Tristan Kent said. "And that we needed to really step it up in the second half if we wanted to win."

Kent had 24 points and Justin Brookhart, a senior guard, scored a game-high 27 to carry the Lions (13-9) to the victory.

"Justin has been just solid for us all year and he really stepped up tonight and shot the ball really well," Liberty coach Brian Tombs said. "Tristan finished his shots and got some key rebounds for us."

Winters Mill senior point guard Tre Woodyard totaled 21 points, three rebounds and three assists, and teammate Grant Sabad added 10 points. But the Falcons couldn't stay with the hosts in the second half.

Liberty started to take control in the third quarter after leading by four points at halftime. Kent sparked the Lions with three layups in the first four minutes as their advantage grew to 39-30. Liberty pushed the advantage to 47-32 with 1:10 remaining on Jack Selby layup.

The Lions lead by double digits for the entire fourth quarter.

"We just had a lapse here and there where they took advantage of it," Winters Mill coach Billy Mays said of the second half. "That's how it's kind of been this season. We miss some shots when we need them and they make the shots."

Liberty jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first 4:50 of the first quarter as Kent scored five points during that stretch.

Winters Mill had four turnovers and shot 1-for-6 from the field in that span. One of those turnovers resulted in Woodyard picking up his second foul and coming out of the game for three minutes.

Ronak Morgan hit back-to-back 3 pointers for Liberty to push its lead to 13-2 with about a minute remaining in the period.

But Devin Callahan drained a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc right before the buzzer to make it 13-5 at the end of the quarter. Winters Mill made more field goals (two) in the first two minutes of the second quarter than it did in the entire first quarter.

Still, the Falcons (2-22) trailed by double digits.

They cut the margin to 20-14 with 4:03 remaining in the second quarter on forward Sabad's medium-range jumper, and tied it at 25-25 three minutes later. Brookhart made a layup and sank a jumper from just inside the 3-point line to give his team a 29-25 bulge at the intermission.

"We thought it would be a cakewalk at first, we quickly realized they are going to fight," Kent said.

Liberty advances to face Francis Scott Key, which defeated South Carroll on Friday night, in the sectional semifinals.

Liberty (65): Ronak Morgan 6, Nick Tilson 2, Tristan Kent 24, Jack Selby 6, Justin Brookhart 27, Steven Goetz 3, Nick Loppatto 1.

Winters Mill (53): Grant Sabad 10, Chandler Gentzel 9, Avery Serafin 4, Tre Woodyard 21, Devin Callahan 9.

Halftime: Liberty, 29-25.

sports@carrollcountytimes.com

410-857-7896

Continue reading here:

Boys Basketball: Extra energy lifts Liberty past Falcons - Carroll County Times