Liberty @ Canyon Springs 2nd Round Matchup
Liberty HS travels to take on #1 seed Canyon Springs in a marquee match-up. The second round was loaded with intriguing games to watch and this one was would be a good one! Liberty has two skilled players with Cam Burist and Julian Strawther. Canyon is a well rounded defensive team that pushes tempo led by Kevin Legardy.
These two teams have very little prior history but this game had lots of intrigue. Liberty was looking for their first regional championship since they school opened. Liberty also had arguably the best player in the state with Julian Strawther. Julian has been described as a high major talent who could make money in the league one day. Canyon Springs was looking for a return to the State playoff from several years ago when they were the last public school to win state. Freddie Banks is their coach. Banks is a longtime Las Vegas legend coming from UNLV. He was a fan favorite while he went to school there. He is also a very good coach who loves to get the boys to run.
The game lived up to its hype. The lead changed several times throughout the game although Canyon Springs held the lead early on. Coach Banks had his players ready to go. They ran up and down and pushed tempo and utilized the dribble drive as much as possible to get free throws and easy baskets. On the other side we saw Strawther and Cam Burist poor in 3 pointers and tough jump shots time and time again. It was contrasting styles of play but they both were not able to stop each other. The fourth quarter had a significant point where Kevin Legardy hit a long 3 to break a tie game at 71 points. Liberty got in a foul trouble situation after that play and Canyon never looked back.
Stats for the Game:
Canyon Springs
Alexander Spaight: 30 points, 9/9 free throws in the 4th quarter
Kevin Legardy: 39 points
Liberty HS
Cam Burist: 27 points
Julian Strawther: 23 points 16 rebounds
Terrance Marigney: 22 pts, 13 rebounds
Next round matchup
Canyon Springs moves on to face Coronado in the Regional Championship. Coronado is led by Freshman guard Jaden Hardy. This will decide who goes to State playoffs from this side of the bracket. Canyon Springs is senior led and well coached. This will be great game to witness.