We've just completed boys semifinal day in Central Section basketball, and it sounds like there was a batch of great games around the Valley tonight.

One of them I saw firsthand. Liberty started sloppy, played flawlessly in the middle and then got sloppy again in holding off Fresno-Sunnyside 69-62 in a Division II semifinal. The Patriots actually led by 17 with about two minutes to go before Sunnyside made a late charge, but things never got epically serious.

I came away really impressed with Liberty point guard Sam Marcus, whom I'd seen play before but never, I don't think, to this caliber. When the Patriots offense was rolling in the second and third quarters — when they outscored Sunnyside 40-27 — it was a joy to watch the offense run. Marcus would dart into the lane and either score over one of Sunnyside's tall trees or kick the ball to the high post or the corner for an open jump shot.

Liberty's dream season now continues at Selland Arena in Fresno, where they'll face ... Garces, which, in similar fashion, got out to a big lead at second-seeded Lemoore and held on for a 92-81 victory. Two Bakersfield teams fighting for a championship in Fresno? Can't they find a way to play this game at the Icardo Center or something? It would draw a huge crowd and be great for the city, but I guss rules is rules.

Anyway, Garces coach Gino Lacava called his brother — who happens to be Californian sports editor Tony Lacava — after the game and said it was one of the most fun, craziest games he'd been a part of. Apparently Lemoore hit a bunch of 3s in the second half to come back, at one point cutting the lead to 5. But the real news of the night might be that both Garces wing Stephon Carter and forward Chris Dixon were injured during the game. Dixon was bleeding from the mouth, but it sounds like he'll be OK come Friday night at 8 p.m. when Garces-Liberty IV gets under way. Carter, on the other hand, might have broken his hand. If he can't play Friday, you'd think Liberty would roll to its fourth straight win over the Rams and to the first section basketball title in school history. If Carter can play (we'll know more tomorrow), I bet another dogfight ensues.

In Division I, Centennial nearly pulled off a big comeback at Fresno-Central to reach the big-boy section final. The Golden Hawks trailed 40-27 at halftime but outscored the Grizzlies 20-8 in the third quarter and then took the lead in the fourth quarter. But when big man Nick Jensen fouled out, Centennial's offense stalled and they fell, 68-61. Central will play Edison in an all-Fresno Unified basketball final. A little strange not to see either a Kern County team or, even more surprising, a Clovis Unified team, in a Division I section final.

Ridgeview had to come from behind to beat El Diamante 67-55 in Division III. The Wolf Pack plays Hanford West at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Selland. Travon Wesson had 32 points for Ridgeview, which goes to show you that Kaylin Evans is not always the star of this team. The Wolf Pack also is shooting for the first section title in school history.

Division IV's local semifinal lacked the drama of II and III. Bakersfield Christian got 32 points from Colby Herron — another sidekick, him to Marcus Hall — and the Eagles rolled, 73-48 past Corcoran. They'll play Kingsburg, an overtime winner over Kerman, in the championship at noon Saturday.

As for the girls, who played their semifinals Tuesday night, the two locals moving on are Stockdale and Garces. Both have huge tests in the finals.

Stockdale, which beat Fresno-Edison 74-54 at home Tuesday, faces Clovis West in the D-I final at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Golden Eagles have beat the Mustangs three years in a row in this game.

Garces is 29-1 after they topped Sanger at home Tuesday, but they have Hanford at 6 p.m. Friday in the final. That's a real tough test, because Hanford is even better than Clovis West — they beat 'em by four earlier this year and carry a top-10 state ranking into the game.

We'll talk more basketball and of course state wrestling later.