Three Liberty-Eylau seniors were bigtime contributors Tuesday night at the Rader Dome in the Leopards 70-58 win over crosstown rival Pleasant Grove.

The win gave L-E undisputed possession of second place in District 15-4A behind league champion Paris. The Leopards enter the postseason 19-10 overall. Pleasant Grove slipped to 13-13 on the year. The Hawks go into the playoffs as a third seed from 15-4A.

“We’ve been working hard all year, and there’s been some ups and downs, but these kids keep fighting,” said L-E coach Dewaski Davis. “We finally started hitting some shots tonight. In the second half we got a little more aggressive with the ball, setting other people up. When that happened we took off. We were hoping to wear them down.”

Hawks led by 12 in first half

Pleasant Grove led by as many as 12 points in the first half by taking advantage of its height. The Hawks blocked several shots and passes in the first two quarters.

Trailing 33-29 at intermission, L-E captured the momentum with its quickness and impressive shooting from junior Takylan Hampton and senior Kentraile Atkins.

Hampton led the Leopards’ balanced attack with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Atkins added 13 points, with two treys.

L-E seniors celebrate at Rader Dome

Senior R’Aikem Harris and 6-5 senior post Javon Hunter scored 16 points each. Harris was deadly at the charity stripe, making all seven of his free throws. Hunter pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.

Hampton swished a trey in the third quarter to put L-E on top, 41-40. Seconds later Harris penetrated and scored. He was also fouled, converting to put the Leopards up, 44-40. Another bucket by Hampton made it 46-40.

The Hawks made one final charge early in the fourth quarter. Guard T’vondrick Henry scored six unanswered points to rally PG within four points, but the Hawks could never get closer. Henry finished with a game-high 22 points.

Pleasant Grove’s first half effort was led by Brett Carmony, who scored 12 points on four 3-pointers.