Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

NORTH LIBERTY – Liberty High landed the first blow in its showdown with cross-town rival West High on Tuesday.

First-year West High coach Jason Kern knew it.

“They came out and threw the first punch,” Kern said. “They got into us defensively and ramped up the pressure and we kind of shied away.”

It was West High that came out swinging in the second half.

Jack Jensen-Fitzpatrick hit four second-half 3-pointers and the Trojans shot 78 percent from the field after halftime while pulling away for a 69-60 win over Liberty High (3-5) in North Liberty.

“We came out a little flat, getting back in the flow it’s always tough but I thought we did a good job of responding,” Jensen-Fitzpatrick said. “This is a tough place to play, a big game with a great crowd so I am really proud of our guys.”

Ethan Headings scored 17 points to lead four West High players in double figures as the Trojans improved to 5-3 on the season with its third consecutive win.

The win was third straight for West High and the second consecutive road win over a cross-town rival after the Trojans won at City High in its final game before the holiday break.

“It feels great getting these cross-town wins especially on the road,” Headings said. “I am going try to go as hard as I can and win every game I can but these intercity games are highlights of my life.”

Liberty High led 31-30 at the half after dictating much of the action for the opening two quarters.

It was all West High after halftime.

The Trojans opened the second half on an 8-2 run that took less than two minutes and was fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Jensen-Fitzpatrick.

“I felt really good,” Jensen-Fitzpatrick said. “I’ve really been struggling the past couple of weeks before break so I knew the break would really help me reset my mind and I’m glad I got that first one in and that really got me on a good note and hopefully that carries into Dubuque Senior and Prairie.”

West High scored 13 of the first 18 points of the second half and led 43-36 after a Headings basket with 4:46 remaining in the third quarter.

Liberty High wouldn’t get any closer than five points the rest of the game.

“We just wanted to come out and keep playing hard, we knew shots were going to fall,” Headings said. “Once we get in a groove our guys are deadly and I think we did a great job in the second half of connecting.”

West High made 14 of its 18 second-half field goal attempts including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.

Jensen-Fitzpatrick was 4-of-7 from 3-point range after halftime while Henry Elser hit a pair of triples in the fourth quarter and Corey Davis added a 3-pointer.

Jack Jensen didn’t play very well in the first half and he came out and hit three big threes right away,” Kern said. “Ethan (Headings) has been big for us all year and I thought Neil James did a heck of a job tonight on (Jerimiah) Washpun, being physical and finishing.”

Elser and Jensen-Fitzpatrick finished with 12 points for West High while James had 10 points and seven rebounds.

“It’s great to have scorers all over the floor,” Headings said. “As the season keeps going guys are getting comfortable and we’ve got guys popping off every night.”

Chase Goodheart had a game-high 27 points for Liberty High and Washpun had 12 points.

Already 2-0 against cross-town rivals this season West High hosts City High on January 23 and welcomes Liberty High for a rematch on January 30.

“It’s really special playing the teams in the city,” Jensen-Fitzpatrick said. “It’s super important for us and I am really proud of just how we played. We are 2-0 in these big time games and I’m really proud of that.”

West High                  13  17  20  19  –  60

Liberty High              12  19  10  19  –  69

West High (69) – Ethan Headings 7-11 3-8 17, Corey Davis 3-7 0-0 9, Henry Elser 4-6 1-2 12, Neil James 3-3 4-4 10, Ahmet Toz 1-2 0-0 3, Jack Jensen-Fitzpatrick 4-10 0-0 12, Lowden Van Daele 3-4 0-0 6, Totals 25-43 8-14 69.

Liberty High (60) – Asher Kahn 0-2 0-0 0, Jerimiah Washpun 5-10 1-5 12, Brooks Andersen 2-5 0-0 6, Rylen Schweitzer 2-3 0-0 4, Chase Goodheart 9-20 3-4 27, Brooks Peyton 2-2 0-0 4, Jacob Stapleton 1-4 2-2 5, Totals 22-46 8-13 60.

3-point field goal – ICW 11-21 (Headings 0-2, Davis 3-4, Elser 3-4, Toz 1-1, Jensen-Fitzpatrick 4-10), ICL 8-23 (Kahn 0-2, Washpun 1-3, Andersen 2-4, Schweitzer 0-1, Goodheart 4-10, Stapleton 1-3). Rebounds – ICW 26 (Headings 7, James 7), ICL 23 (Goodheart 5). Turnovers – ICW 13, ICL 13. Total fouls – ICW 17, ICL 12. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.

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