University held on for victory in its Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference North Division opener on Saturday, pulling away in the final minute to beat Liberty Christian 54-51 in an away game.
The Lions led 13-10 after the first quarter, but the Trailblazers came back to tie the game at 27-27 by halftime. Liberty Christian took a 33-27 lead in the third before University made a run to go ahead 41-37 by the end of the period.
The ‘Blazers never trailed in the fourth quarter, and led 47-41 before the Lions made an 8-2 run to tie the game at 49-49. Larry Pierce made two free throws in a one-and-bonus situation to get University ahead 51-49. Liberty Christian tied the game again, but Kahmi Bracey got UHS ahead for good with a free throw, then made a steal that led to Pierce hitting two more foul shots, sealing the game.
“I’m really proud of our guys finding a way to win a huge conference game in a tough environment,” said ‘Blazers coach Brandon Lafferman.
Pierce finished with 25 points, while Andre Ozlowski scored 13 points.
University is 4-1 overall and plays Friday at Brebeuf Jesuit.
UNIVERSITY 54, LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 51
University FG FT TP PF
Nate Jeffery 2 2 6 0
Kahmi Bracey 1 2 5 3
Rob Russell 1 2 5 2
Andre Ozlowski 4 2 13 3
Larry Pierce 7 9 25 2
Seth Hogg 0 0 0 0
Jackson Bledsoe 0 0 0 0
Totals 15 17 54 10
Score by Quarters
University 10 17 14 13 – 54
Liberty Christian 13 14 10 14 – 51
University 3-pointers (5) Pierce 2, Bracey 1, Russell 1, Ozlowski 1.