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Alton (IL) vs. Liberty Tech (TN)
In the first game of Friday’s evening session Alton (IL) would take on Liberty Tech (TN).  Alton is led by senior guards Kavon Lacy and Brandon Wilson and their 6-6 big man Justin Sims.  Liberty Tech came into the game ranked 33rd in the country by Rise Magazine.  They are led by brothers Antwan and Jewuan Long, and a pair of 6-6 players, Josh Sain and DeVon Jones. 

The teams looked very evenly matched in the early going, but Liberty Tech took a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended their advantage to 27-21 with 2 minutes to go in the half as 6-1 Antwan Long muscled his way to his 10th point.  That’s when Alton’s Brandon Wilson started to heat up and hit a pair of trifectas and a driving layup to get his team to within 1-point at 30-29 going into halftime.

Wilson kept the hot hand and Alton opened the second half on an 11-0 run to assume a 40-30 lead early in the third period.  Liberty Tech refused to give up though, and behind a combined 9 points from the Long brothers they cut Alton’s lead to 4 at 46-42 heading into the final quarter.

Josh Sain hit a nice turnaround jumper for Liberty Tech to start the 4th quarter, but Kavon Lacy came right back and scored on a driving layup to put Alton back up by 4 points.  The teams continued to go back-and-forth until Jewaun Long hit a 3-pointer to get his team to within a point and on Liberty Tech’s next possession Jewaun’s brother, Antwan drew a foul and hit 1-2 of his free throws to tie the game at 54 apiece with 2 minutes to go.

After a timeout Brandon Wilson scored on a driving layup to give Alton the lead again, but it was short-lived as Jewaun Long scored 6 straight points to give Liberty Tech a 60-56 lead with under a minute remaining in the game. 

With only 4 seconds remaining in the game and Alton down 3, they got the ball back with a chance to tie it, but called a timeout they didn’t have and that mistake resulted in a technical foul and ultimately the game.  Liberty Tech hit both free throws for the 63-58 victory.

Noteworthy Performances

Brandon Wilson 6-0 Sr. PG Alton
Brandon was the best player in the game tonight.  He ran point guard for Alton and did so nearly to perfection.  He is a good ball-handler and passes out of pressure very well.  Liberty Tech had a hard time stopping him from putting points on the board.  His outside shot looked good and he could beat his man to the basket and knew how to finish in traffic.  After the game we spoke to Brandon and we were surprised to find out that Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is the only school to have shown interest.  Brandon finished with 22 points on 5-7 shooting and had 6 rebounds.  Add this kid to your list of sleepers.

Kavon Lacey 6-1 Sr. SG Alton
Kavon is another outstanding guard for Alton.  His game is very similar to Brandon Wilson’s, but he doesn’t handle the ball as well.  Don’t take that as a complete knock though as he is a heady player and passes the ball in situations that lesser guards would attempt to break pressure with a dribble.  He attacks the basket and wasn’t afraid of contact.  Kavon can score from a number of spots on the floor including beyond the arc.  He finished with 16 points and 7 rebounds.  Another sleeper.

Antwan Long 6-1 Sr. SF Liberty Tech 
Antwan plays much bigger than his height.  He uses his strong frame to play forward and was very effective.  He is a strong finisher and got to the line more than anyone in the game.  Finished with a team high 19 points on 7-10 shooting and added 7 rebounds.

Jewuan Long 6-2 Sr. SG Liberty Tech
Jewuan is going to play college ball for Murray State and looks to be a perfect fit for the Racers.  He was clutch tonight and hit the big shots when his team needed them including a trio of 3-pointers.  He also has a nice floater and a good handle and attacks the basket well.  We had him for 18 points and 5 rebounds.

Josh Sain 6-6 Sr. PF Liberty Tech 
This long forward finished with 11 points and 6 rebounds.  He had one driving-spin-move to right-handed-hook-shot that might have been the most visually impressive play of the game.  Coach Bennett told us after the game that Josh is uncommitted although a lot of OVC schools have shown interested. He said that Josh is going to be "very close to qualifying".

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