Thats a motto the University of North Carolina made popular under legendary coach Dean Smith, who made sharing the basketball a top priority.

Heritage worked it to perfection Tuesday night.

On an evening when its shooting touch was flat in front of a sparse home crowd, the Pioneers made the extra pass in a 63-46 victory over Rustburg in the Conference 30 semifinals.

Jordan Hamlette, Caleb Snead and Keenan Austin combined for 17 assists, and Heritage advanced to Thursdays Conference 30 finals while also locking up a spot in next weeks Region 3A West tournament.

Heritage's Jordan Hamlette drives past Rustburg's Deonta' Jackson during the second half on Tuesday Feb. 14, 2017 in Lynchburg, Va. Photo by Lathan Goumas.

Shoot, I didnt really notice, but thats really good, said Snead, the 6-foot-4 senior forward who led Heritage (16-6) with 15 points. Sharing the ball like that, that means were playing together.

For fourth-seeded Rustburg (10-13), the season came to a close one night after defeating bottom seed Tunstall in the conference play-in game. Deonta Jackson led the way with 15 points on Tuesday. The junior guard knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the second quarter to bring Rustburg within two points, 25-23.

But the Pioneers went on a run to close the half, highlighted by the only shot of the game by reserve Philip Bowles, who buried his own 3 just before the buzzer. Between the final minute of the second quarter and the opening minutes of the third, Heritage strung together a 13-0 run.

Rustburg's Kamron Hughes goes up for a shot during the first half on Tuesday Feb. 14, 2017 in Lynchburg, Va. Photo by Lathan Goumas.

Thats the difference, first-year Rustburg coach Charles Davis said. I always stress to them that the last two minutes of the second [quarter] and the first few minutes of the third, thats the difference-maker of the game at any level. Once that happened, youre constantly battling uphill.

Less than one week after scoring his 1,000th career point at HSS, Hamlette finished with 14 points. He also led the way with seven assists and hauled down a team-best 12 rebounds.

Keenan Austin (12 points) had 10 rebounds and five assists, while Snead rounded out the three notable performances with seven rebounds and five assists.

Heritage has won the Conference 30 championship in all three years of the conferences existence. That means Snead and Hamlette have celebrated with that title for their entire varsity careers.

Heritage's Jordan Hamlette drives past Rustburg's Deonta' Jackson during the second half on Tuesday Feb. 14, 2017 in Lynchburg, Va. Photo by Lathan Goumas.

But the last two years, weve lost in the first round of region, Snead said. So this year, we really want to get past that and go far.

Theres still work to be done, though.

We communicate sometimes and sometimes we dont, Hamlette said, referencing something the Pioneers will work on in the coming days.

Snead wasnt surprised by Tuesdays victory, given his teams success each year in the five-team tourney.

We run Conference 30, he said, and weve got to defend it.

Liberty 53, Brookville 44

Liberty clung to a one-point lead with 2:10 remaining when forward Ethan Payne caught an inbounds pass while standing near midcourt. Then Payne saw an opening.

He barreled into the lane, drove all the way to the basket and went up strong to ignite his squad. Liberty needed little motivation from there and pulled away from Brookville for a 53-44 victory.

Liberty (12-11) will play in the Conference 30 championship for the first time in school history and receives an automatic berth into the Region 3A West tourney. The Minutemen are also 10-3 in their last 13 games.

Payne providedTuesday's heads-up, decisive play. The rest of the game belonged to senior guard Raheem Anthony, who poured on a game-high 23 points.

Anthony didnt have to look far for inspiration, either: he simply wasnt ready for his high school career to come to a close. So he put up a performance for the ages, slicing into the lane over and over.

When he was a freshman, Anthony watched LHS suffer a season-ending loss to Brookville. The seniors, he said of that season, cried in the locker room after the loss.

We said, Were not losing to Brookville. Were not going out like those seniors did, Anthony said. So tonight was just all heart and emotion.

Anthony and Brookvilles Tyson Hancock, the Lynchburg areas leading scorer in the regular season, guarded each other throughout the night. Hancock led the Bees (8-16) with 16 points, while forward Sam Slade added 12.

Hes a great player, Anthony said of Hancock. Hes got heart, but I just wanted it more.

The game featured seven ties and a whopping 14 lead changes (eight in the third quarter). Liberty led 45-44 when Payne made that fateful move to the hole and banked in his shot. Payne finished with 15 points, and the Minutemen closed the game on a 9-0 run.

I just saw the lane, that it was open and I drove it in, Payne said.

Then the senior described the moment directly following his basket.

It was a lot of emotion, he said. People jumping up and down, screaming, and my heart was pumping fast, almost out of my chest.

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