February 21, 1999
By Pat Magers
Sports Writer
Most often, the phrase 'game of inches' is associated with football. Sometimes, it is a good fit for a baseball game as well.
But there was no better tag for Liberty-Benton's 60-57 squeaker over Calvert Saturday night. When Joe Harvey's hurried 3-point attempt from more than 30 feet was just off the mark, it was merely the last instance in which a couple inches would have made a difference in a showdown of state-ranked teams.
''You could start with our free-throw shooting (Calvert hit 14-of-23 to L-B's 13-of-18) and go to our shooting percentage, or a couple putbacks they got that maybe they shouldn't have, or a couple of turnovers, or a couple passes that we just missed getting steals,'' coach Tony Mass began, his voice trailing.
''I really do think this was a game of inches,'' he said. ''You can't have a lot of those things pile up against a team like Liberty-Benton. They are disciplined, they're fundamentally sound and they'll make you pay.''
In a game that featured 11 lead changes and eight ties, the Eagles inched ahead by limiting Calvert to four points over the final 3 1/2 minutes.
The Senecas, ranked 11th among Ohio's Division IV teams in the this week's Associated Press poll, took a 53-50 lead when Joe Harvey knocked down a 3-pointer. That had L-B coach Steve Williman springing off the bench for a timeout.
The Eagles, rated 10th in the Division III poll, promptly turned the ball over on the inbounds play. But Calvert couldn't convert.
Sophomore sub Dustin Lieb then gave L-B a big lift by hitting a pair of foul shots and two inside jumpers in a two-minute span for a 56-53 lead. Eric Welty made a free throw for Calvert, but sophomore Brady Hoane netted 3-of-4 from the line at the other end to make it 59-54 with just 12 ticks left.
His one miss became a Calvert rebound and Dan Walter then canned a 30-footer with six seconds left to trim the margin to two. Hoane was fouled again and he hit one free throw. His miss ended up in Harvey's hands and the senior managed to dribble over the time line before launching the bomb that was just off the mark.
''I thought we made some big defensive plays down the stretch that made the difference for us,'' said Williman, whose team finishes the regular season with a 17-3 record. ''We were very solid at the defensive end down the stretch. We missed a few free throws that could have sealed it for us, but we continued to battle and make plays against a very good team.''
Before that stretch run, Calvert seemingly had gained the upper hand. Baskets by Dustyn Risner and Joe Walter, plus a foul shot by Harvey allowed the Senecas (16-3) to close the third period with a 43-39 lead. The margin was 47-41 with 6:48 to play thanks to a Kevin Cahill jumper and two foul shots by Dan Walter.
But Lieb, who scored all by two of his team-leading 16 points in the second half, and Andy Fields, who had three 3-pointers on the way to a 13-point night, brought the Eagles back. Hoane added 14 points for the winners.
''We've shot well from the perimeter and we're more likely to pull the trigger from out there this year than perhaps in other years,'' Williman said. But Calvert puts great pressure on you defensively, especially on the perimeter, so at times we really struggled to get good looks.
''We had some kids come off the bench tonight and give us a big lift,'' he said. ''I thought this was a great team win for us. Most things we do this year have to be done by committee.''
Calvert countered with a one-two punch of Dan Walter, who had game-high totals of 24 points and nine rebounds, and Harvey, who tossed in 13. Matt Hammer was next with eight points while Risner grabbed seven boards and Joe Walter six.
''I thought we gave a real good defensive effort; we just didn't get enough shots to fall,'' Mass said. ''I'm not disappointed with the tempo of the game. Early on, when they ran that man-to-man offense that they love to run, we disrupted it.
''They hit a couple big shots that kept them in the ballgame at a time when we might have been able to pull away,'' he said. ''We had them by five a couple times and by six once, but we just couldn't get over the hump to finish. We gave a good account of ourselves; we just came up a little short.''
By an inch or so.