Second year basketball programs are not supposed to win district championships, they are not supposed to move on to the Sweet Sixteen, and they are definitely not supposed to make it to the Final Four. However, the Liberty North men’s basketball team did just that Friday, March 9.

After winning all eight games of their post-season,  they found themselves in  Mizzou arena, nervous with anticipation for the outcome of the game.

“Playing in a college arena was pretty intimidating first, but it ended up being really cool. The locker rooms and everything else were just awesome,” junior Jake Hanson said.

After a tough game, the Eagles fell to Soldan International Studies (23-5) with a score of 50-25. This kind of loss was one that the team has never experienced before, something they were not used to.

“Well, every loss is hard. But losing the way we lost made it a little worse since we didn’t play very well,” junior Zach Starr said.

Although the season was challenging, the team was able to stick together because of one motto: family. This was their cheer after huddles, their motivation, what kept the players going. However, it inspired the fans, students, and even some opponents. It is not often you see a team that is so close, and so supportive.

“Family just brought us closer as a team. Everyone had each other’s backs and it made everything that much better,” Hanson said.

The Eagle’s then had to regroup on Saturday.They had just been man-handled by Soldan International Studies 50-25. The 25 points being the lowest total scored in a game in the schools 2 year history. The team knew they didn’t play their best game, they knew they let Soldans’ pressure get to them, and the Eagles also knew that they still had the 3^rd place game to play.

“We knew we couldn’t hang our heads. We were disappointed that we didn’t win our game but we knew we also had to the opportunity to be one of two teams that could say they ended their season on a win,”  Starr said.

The Eagles awoke the next morning knowing it was a new day.   They knew also they had more than just 3^rd place to play for. Seniors Garrett Loew and Tanner Pruitt were preparing to play their last games for the Eagles.

“We really just wanted to show people that we belonged with these teams, we also knew Tanner and Garrett deserved to go out with a win and we were determined to make that happen for them,” Hanson said.

It was ultimately the senior leadership that helped the Eagles grab a win and a 3^rd place finish at state. Senior Garrett Loew hit a game tying three with just 2 seconds remaining. This 3 sent the game to overtime where the Eagles were able to scrape out a 54-50 victory.

“There was no doubt who was getting the ball in that situation. We all trusted and knew that Garrett was the one who could hit the shot,” Starr said.