‘That hoop looks like an ocean to him’: Liberty’s Sparrow drains seven treys in victory over Payson

PITTSFIELD, Ill. — When Reed Sparrow finds his groove, there is no telling where he will shoot from next.

“You kind of question it a little bit with him being so far away, but you also have to give him the green light because sometimes that hoop looks like an ocean to him,” Liberty boys basketball coach Dan Sparrow said.

The hoop must have looked like the great wide Pacific to the Eagles’ sophomore forward on Monday because he drained seven 3-pointers — most of which came from well beyond the arc — and poured in 28 points as Liberty beat Payson Seymour 56-47 in the first game of the Saukee Turkey Tournament at Pittsfield’s Voshall Gym.

Not a bad showing in the first game of the season.

“Nope, not at all,” Reed Sparrow said. “First game against Payson especially, it feels nice to be in that groove.”

Reed Sparrow went blow for blow with Payson’s Blake Schwartz, who made six 3-pointers of his own, and Lane Barker, who drained five triples. These three combined for an electric sequence in the third quarter during which they made four 3-pointers in less than two minutes.

Barker’s 3-pointer from the right corner tied the game at 33 with 4:01 left, then Sparrow buried his sixth 3 of the game 45 seconds later to give the Eagles a 36-34 lead. A minute later, Schwartz tied the game at 37 with a triple, then the Eagles got the ball right back up the court and Sparrow canned his seventh 3-pointer no sooner than the Payson fans could settle back into their seats.

Indians coach Tyler Duschinsky could not help but sit back and enjoy the shooting display these three marksmen delivered.

“I’m a huge English Premier League guy, and the reason I love it is I feel like in that league, top to bottom, the games are always back and forth. It’s entertaining from a fans’ standpoint, and I feel like that’s what (Sparrow, Barker and Schwartz) were able to provide tonight, that back and forth,” Duschinsky said. “Their crowd is cheering on one end, then all of a sudden our crowd is cheering on the other end. It’s a lot of fun.”

A little banter between Sparrow and Schwartz, who were guarding each other at times, amplified the intense rivalry between Liberty and Payson.

“It’s definitely a good time,” Reed Sparrow said. “It’s just a competitive game. It’s good to have that interaction and answer the way I did.”

Sparrow’s groove from deep translated to the free throw line. He went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final 32 seconds and made four in a row at one point to help the Eagles stretch their lead.

“My dad (Dan Sparrow) always told me when I was young, ‘It’s just you and the rim. Two balls can fit through that rim,’” Reed Sparrow said. “So I always envision two balls fitting in that rim, and I just go up there, stare at the rim and feel like they’re going to go in every time.”

The Eagles held the Indians to six points in the fourth quarter on 3-pointers by Schwartz and Nolan Sparks. The Indians made 12 3-pointers, but they only made two 2-point field goals.

“We busted our butts to get back in the game. Crashing the offensive glass was huge. That allowed us to get back into the game,” Duschinsky said. “Then we got complacent with settling for threes instead of getting to the rim. That falls on me. I’ve ingrained in their head, ‘Shoot the basketball, shoot the basketball.’ I need to do a better job of getting good, quality shots at the rim.”

Pool play continues Tuesday with Payson Seymour playing Petersburg PORTA. Liberty will face PORTA on Wednesday.