The way Liberty's Ring Nyeri figured, there was no choice but to take over during Saturday's 6A championship game against O'Connor. 

"We had a mindset that losing wasn't going to be accepted," Nyeri said. 

Thanks in part to a monstrous third quarter from Nyeri, the tenth-seeded Lions ended up on the good side of a 69-63 win over No. 5 O'Connor to claim the first basketball championship in school history. 

Nyeri scored 14 of his 26 points in the third quarter, propelling Liberty down the stretch. The 6-10 senior also grabbed 10 rebounds and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for the Lions. 
Liberty became the lowest seed to win a state championship since the current seeding system was implemented for the 2010-11 school year. 

"This is such a great feeling," said junior guard Jackson Hunter, who had 14 points and seven rebounds for Liberty. "This just shows what hard work and belief and teamwork can do. Games are played for a reason."

The Lions first 11 games included five double digit losses. Things came around while battling in the competitive Desert Valley Region, which included O'Connor, with whom Liberty split two games.

Saturday's title game saw Liberty jump out to an 11-0 lead before Michael Simcoe led O'Connor back with 10 first quarter points, as Liberty led 19-16 after one quarter. The 6-8 junior dominated for much of the game with an array of powerful dunks while hurting Liberty from the perimeter with three 3-pointers. 

Simcoe led all scorers with 28 points while pulling down 10 rebounds.

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O'Connor led 31-30 at halftime, and it appeared as if the Eagles might pull away early in the third quarter, as Simcoe continued to dominate the paint as well as outside. His third 3-pointer of the game gave O'Connor a 38-35 lead as the game's tide seemed to be swaying for the Eagles. 

That's when Nyeri took over. He closed out the quarter with 11 straight points for Liberty, good for a 47-42 lead. 

"Ring was amazing for us today and he really played inspired basketball," Hunter said of Nyeri. 

"He obviously scores a lot of points for us, but he's also a great leader and a great teammate."

The fourth quarter opened with O'Connor's Jason Cullum knocking down a pair of free throws, as Liberty still held a slim 47-44 lead. But the Lions went back to work building a lead. Mark Duigud added one free throw before a layup, and then Stephan Miller hit a huge 3-pointer for Liberty, good for a 52-44 lead. 

Miller came up big for Liberty again, grabbing an offensive rebound for a quick putback, and then converting a three-point play with just under four minutes left in the game, helping Liberty maintain a nine point lead (59-50). 

Aiden Dunne added one more 3-pointer for Liberty before O'Connor was forced to start fouling. The Eagles wouldn't get closer than five points the rest of the way. 

Junior Tayvion Wilson scored 15 points for O'Connor, which finished the season 21-10. 
“It stings right now, but it was great year," O'Connor coach Joshua Cole said afterward.

“We just never got in a rhythm. They kept us out of that, and that was the difference.”