Players of the Liberty High basketball team, from left Dante Davis and Julian Strawther, take a portrait during the Las Vegas Sun’s High School Basketball Media Day at the Red Rock Resort and Casino, Oct. 28, 2019.
Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 | 10:15 p.m.
Liberty's Moliki Matavao (9) is pulled down by Centennial's Jordan McGilbra (23) during the 4A high school football championship game at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. Liberty beat Centennial 50-7.
Julian Strawther, the best basketball player in Liberty’s 15-year history, fouled out of the Patriots' playoff game tonight against Spring Valley. Same for Kobe Stroughter, the Patriots’ point guard.
Liberty, fortunately, has an elite athlete on its bench.
Moliki Matavao, a four-star tight end recruit in football for 2021, had a tip-in at the buzzer to lift the Patriots to a wild 71-69 victory against Spring Valley in the Desert Regional quarterfinals. The game was tied at halftime — and almost tied at the end of regulation.
Related Content
“The kid makes plays on the football field and makes plays on the basketball court,” Liberty coach Stefan Berg said.
Strawther had a game-high 26 points, Joshua Jefferson had 19 and Dante Davis finished will 11. Matavao had two — massively huge — points.
“A win is a win, no matter what,” Berg said. “Spring Valley was scrappy. They wanted it. (Paul) Blair is a good coach and had those kids ready to play.”
A’Mari James led Spring Valley with 19 points. James Webster and Kobe Moore each scored 14.
Liberty faces Bishop Gorman next week in the regional semifinals. Gorman is the eight-time defending state champion and favorite to repeat. But Matavao knows anything can happen. A few months ago, he helped Liberty end Gorman’s string of 10-straight state titles in football.
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy