The boys’ basketball team at Meridian High School was back in action on Tuesday, hosting the Eagles of Liberty (Bealeton) for a lone home game sandwiched between two pairs of road matchups on either side. With Meridian entering the night still unbeaten on the year, it was safe to say that these Eagles would have a much tougher time than the ones from Philadelphia did against the Commanders in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
The Mustangs stormed out of the gates on a 12-0 run, with John Alverson setting the tone by getting to the rim at will early on. Meridian led 24-11 after a quarter despite not hitting a single three in the opening frame, and then if there was any idea that Liberty might have a chance to keep it close, the home team used a massive second period surge to take a 46-15 lead into the halftime break. Liberty doubled its scoring output in the third quarter and yet still continued to lose ground to the Mustangs, with Meridian’s advantage expanding to 68-34 after three, and with a running clock and mostly backups in the game in the fourth, Jim Smith’s squad would cruise home to an uneventful 78-42 win.
It’s a testament to what Smith and his players have built that blowouts like this are considered business as usual, as Meridian – now 15-0 – finds itself beginning to earn recognition across various local and even statewide rankings. Alverson led the way with 16 points while Isaac Rosenberger chipped in with 15 and Will Davis had 14. Now, as alluded to in the opening paragraph, they’ll hit the road again to play Kettle Run and Millbrook on back-to-back nights Thursday and Friday.
