MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Liberty made better than 54 percent of its shots and maintained a double-digit lead for much of the second half on the way to a 61-50 victory over Howard in the Class AA state basketball tournament at Middle Tennessee State University.
Howard, which was making its third state tournament appearance in four years, fell behind by 10 in the first half but rallied to close within two early in the second quarter by making 5 of 6 3-pointers.
But fifth-ranked Liberty followed with eight unanswered points to retake command and the second-ranked Hustlin’ Tigers never got closer than nine in the second half.
Chris Deloney was the only Howard player in double-figure scoring, finishing with 12 points.
The Crusaders will play Maplewood in Friday’s semifinals. Maplewood clobbered 10th-ranked Carter 84-63 earlier Thursday.