Minutemen stay in thick of district hunt

  Times change.

Chappy Merritt

Slowing things down. Heritage’s Quinten Trent (4) and Liberty’s Deonte Brown (2) opt to use their knees, while Minuteman Jordan Monroe joins the fray.

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Last year, Liberty ran roughshod over its Seminole brethren in nailing down an undisputed district title.

This year, things seem to be boiling down to a three-team race.

And Liberty is certainly in that mix.

At this time, it looks as though the Seminole is up for grabs between E.C. Glass (4-1), Amherst (4-1) and Liberty (4-2).

Jefferson Forest, at 3-3, is certainly still in contention.

Last week, Liberty helped solidify its case for a Seminole crown, while weakening the case for the strength of the district.

The Minutemen handily topped Heritage, 61-41.

The Minutemen had their most balanced attack of the season in this one.

Twelve of the 15 guys on the roster got into the scoring action, though Gaitlin Wright was the only one to hit double digits.

Wright scored 10 points.

The win certainly put the Minutemen in a good position for a run at a third straight Seminole crown.

But on Saturday, the team was smacked around by Rockbridge, 79-49.

True, the Rockies are an exceptionally good team.

Yet, they aren’t even the best team in their district (Southern Valley).  That distinction belongs to R.E. Lee, which stands 12-0, overall.

Rockbridge suffered its only loss of the year to Lee.

Against Liberty, Rockbridge was paced by Andrew Rowsey, who put up 42 points on the Minutemen.

You read that right folks:  42.

There are entire teams that don’t score that much against Liberty.

His 42 points made Liberty’s Anthony Reynolds’s 26 seem like a piker’s payout, in comparison.

Rowsey nailed nine three-pointers as part of his one-man deluge.

Oh, yeah.  He fouled out at the start of the fourth quarter.

Otherwise, he might have put up 50, or more.

Last “oh, yeah” here.  Oh, yeah.  Rowsey is just a sophomore. 

Thomas Clark is noted for his sound defense.  But the Liberty guard, one of many that Head Coach Jeff Monroe threw at Rowsey, couldn’t keep pace with Rowsey.

“I couldn’t find an answer for him,” said Clark, who said that he felt Rowsey has Division 1 college ball written all over him.

Still, Clark noted, Liberty seems on the right track. “We’re getting into the flow of things more,” he added.

Coming up

Things are bound to become more clear this week (we think).

Tuesday (after press time), the Minutemen played at Amherst.

They host Brookville on Friday and host E.C. Glass on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

Should the M-Men win all three of those contests, they will be tied for first place, at a minimum.

Lose any of them, and they are in a hole, looking up.