UPDATE, 10:15 p.m.: So, make it dejå vu all over again. Liberty falls behind Garces in the third quarter, stays with it and nips the Rams at the end. This one was a good bit more exciting, given the way Westin Hill banked home a 3 in the final seconds ("lucky shot," he admitted to me later) and the way Liberty now has a share of the SEYL title for the first time in school history. The Patriots can clinch it outright with a win at home against Foothill (and don't sleep on the Trojans; they beat East tonight) on Thursday.
But no matter what happens Thursday, coming into Garces' lions' den and coming out with victory No. 3 against the talented Rams.
"Unbelievable," Liberty coach Andy Hicks told me after the game. "We have this gaping hole on the wall in our gym. Every sport's been so successful, but there's no banner for basketball."
Now there will be. Hill was the hero — and he scored 23 points to lead all scorers — but don't discredit the contributions of Cody Darling, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, including three shots late that would have Bill Raftery screaming about onions, or those of Calen Coleman, who defended Stephon Carter most of the night and scored 18 of his own, or those of Sam Marcus, who shook off early foul trouble and stayed on the court to pace the offense for the entire second half.
Also don't discredit Garces, which has seen the same story play three times against Liberty but seems to be getting a little closer. They'll be on the road in the playoffs now for at least one round — possibly at Liberty in the semifinals? — but they'll be a tough out for anyone.
Tonight, though, was Liberty's night. And, I must say, this season has that feeling of destiny. It's been Liberty's season.

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: And Westin Hill, with an open look, banks in a 3-pointer with 4 ticks left! Garces called time, but Stephon Carter's running 3 at the buzzer bricked off. 73-70, Liberty wins, clinches a tie for an SEYL title and makes it 3-for-3 with possibly a playoff meeting to come.

UPDATE, 8:37 p.m.: This game was billed as a showdown, and it hasn't disappointed. Cody Darling and Stephon Carter have answered one another with buckets on either end of the floor in the final two minutes, and the game's knotted again, 70-70, with 15 seconds left. Liberty has the ball.

UPDATE, 8:30 p.m.: Garces leads 63-62, with sophomore Randall Jackson at the line to shoot a one-and-one with 3:03 left. The game's gone back and forth, most recently with Jackson answering Cody Darling's lead-changing 3 with one of his own.

UPDATE, 8:17 p.m.: And we're tied at 54 heading to the fourth quarter. I don't think this one will end up 63-56 or 58 like the previous two, but Liberty has been playing the game it wants since the first five or so minutes. I still think Garces is going to need a big run — or some big shots by its big guns in the final minutes — to win this game.

UPDATE, 8:15 p.m. Cody Darling just drained an open 3-pointer to give Liberty its biggest lead, which happens to be two, 52-50 with 1:15 left in the third. Garces is starting to get frustrated that the Pats continue to answer its runs; Ryan Bush picked up a technical foul a few minutes ago. All three games between these teams have now been a little like this. The question is, can Garces finish one off? As I write, Chris Dixon gets a big offensive rebound for the Rams and draws a foul on the putback. It's 54-52 Garces.

UPDATE, 8:03 p.m.: I'm ready to take my sweater off here in the pressure cooker, literally and figuratively, that is the Garces gym. A late flurry from the Rams gives them a 40-35 halftime lead after Liberty had taken a brief lead with 3:40 to play and then tied the game at 33 with 0:57 seconds left.
That's right; Garces scored seven points in the last minute of the half, showing off their quick-strike ability at just the right time. Stephon Carter finally scored his first points on a transition bucket with 3:05 left, but here's why I've still been impressed with his 4-point scoreline: Carter is not forcing the game. He once had a semi-open path to the hoop and dished to Josh Morris for an easy layup instead, and he's only forced one shot that I can count. Credit also goes to Calen Coleman, the Liberty defender who has done a fine job keeping Carter away from the lane.
Coleman also got it done for the Pats on the offensive end, scoring nine points in the second quarter. He has 14 points and Westin Hill has 11 for Liberty. Ryan Bush leads all scorers with 15 points for Garces.
Another quick note: Sam Marcus did indeed pick up foul No. 3 before the half. He's got to be cognizant of that stat here in the second half. Other than that, it's time to see if Garces can build on momentum and get a comfortable lead again. Otherwise, Liberty will squeeze out another close one, I think.
Here are the rest of the halftime stat lines:
Liberty — Sam Marcus 5, Calen Coleman 14 (plus four rebounds and a steal), Westin Hill 11, Jeff Hicks 3, Cody Darling 2.
Garces — Ryan Bush 15, Randall Jackson 7, Chris Dixon 2, Christian Gapper 6, Josh Morris 4, Stephon Carter 4, Josh Shambaugh 2.

UPDATE, 7:44 p.m.: The Patriots have turned things around in the second quarter, trimming a Garces lead that was once 11 down to just a point, 26-25, with 4:07 left before halftime. Biggest thing Liberty's doing right? Discipline. No turnovers, and that's not a big surprise for this team. Meanwhile, Garces has turned it over six times. Stephon Carter is still scoreless, but his rebound total is already up to 7.

UPDATE, 7:34 p.m.: First round of the night goes to Garces, which rebounded the ball well and shot it even better in a fast-moving first quarter. The Rams have the pace to their liking and a 25-18 lead after the first eight.
Part of Liberty's problem has been that stellar point guard Sam Marcus committed two quick fouls and was on the bench for most of that quarter. He's back in now, but he'll have to be careful not to pick up a third before the half. The bigger problem for the Pats right now, though, is that Garces is shooting the lights out. Ryan Bush has hit a couple of 3s and has 12 points already, and Christian Gapper, of all people, also has a couple of treys. Stephon Carter didn't score (he has four rebounds), but the Rams are on pace for 100 points anyway.
Remember, though, Garces had the early lead in both of these teams' previous meetings too.

UPDATE, 6:38 p.m.: Looks like we'll be starting a little bit after 7 p.m. here. The junior varsity game — which, I might add, has set the tone for the night be being a little chippy — isn't to the end of the third quarter yet. Liberty leads by 16 as I write.

But Garces' JV team doesn't have Stephon Carter. Or, for that matter, Chris Dixon or Ryan Bush. All of those guys have scored points in bunches at times this season for a team that likes to run, run, run. The Rams routinely score more than 80, and they've topped 90 a couple of times and 100 once this year already.

But against Liberty, that hasn't been the case. The Patriots have beaten Garces 63-56 back in December in the final of the Garces Holiday tourney, and then they beat them 63-58 at Liberty in the first round of league season. Nobody around here plays more fundamental defense — or offense, for that matter — than Liberty. That might be true for the entire section, actually. But that doesn't mean there's no talent on that team, either. Sam Marcus is the best ball-handling point guard around (Centennial's Cody Kessler is more of a scoring PG), and Cody Darling shoots from outside or rebounds from inside with the best of them.

So we should have a heck of a game. Both teams are 9-1 in the league, and they'll likely be the top 2 seeds when the Division II bracket is unveiled next week. There is a chance that tonight's loser would fall to the No. 3 seed, meaning that they'd potentially have to travel to Lemoore in the semifinals.

Really, though, it's almost too bad neither of these teams will get to try its hand in D-I. I think both are capable of at least a run to the final.

Anyway, we've got the end of the third quarter of the JV game now. The place is already packed. If you're thinking of coming out but haven't yet, I wouldn't bother. I don't think the fire marshal will let anyone else in, and I'm serious. This joint is packed to the brim, and it's an early-arriving crowd. Probably the most people these JV teams have ever played in front of.

ORIGINAL POST, 5:04 p.m.: For those of you that notice in time, I've decided to take a page from my football playbook and do live updates from tonight's Liberty-Garces boys basketball game.

It's No. 2 vs. No. 3 in my section rankings, and it's two 9-1 SEYL teams fighting for a virtual lock on a league title (Garces plays Highland to finish the year Thursday while Liberty plays Foothill, both almost definite wins). The gym is probably already packed as I write this, so I best be getting over there. Check back around game time (scheduled for 7, but depends on the JV game) for some scene-setting and for live updates throughout the night.