FALLSBURG – After winning their first non-league matchup in Ellenville’s Rumble in the Valley tournament, Fallsburg hosted Liberty for a Class B showdown on Tuesday night. A stellar performance on both sides of the ball by Fallsburg senior Eugene Johnson led the Comets to a 71-63 victory.

The Indians got off to a good start early, moving the ball up the court and cashing in on easy shots for an 8-3 lead in the opening minutes. Fallsburg answered with a 7-2 run to tie it at 10 apiece, and the two teams exchanged buckets back and forth until the end of the first quarter. Fallsburg led 17-14 at the end of the first frame, but Liberty had no intention of throwing in the towel.

Early in the second quarter, the two teams continued to hit shots, keeping the score within a possession until a few empty trips down the court by Liberty gave Fallsburg a nine point lead. Liberty ended the half on a 6-5 run to end the half trailing 38-30.

Isaiah Young scored all of his 11 points in the first half for Fallsburg, and Johnson had already netted 13 of his 29 points by the break.

Erik Pomales (10) and Londyn Pomales (9) led the first half scoring for Liberty.

In the third quarter, Eugene Johnson continued to work offensively, adding 11 of the 17 points for the Comets in the third quarter. Fallsburg outscored Liberty 17-13 and extended their lead to 12 points heading into the final frame.

Despite being outscored 20-16 in the fourth quarter, Fallsburg kept pace with Liberty and answered nearly every Indians bucket with one of their own to hold their lead until the final buzzer.

“It was a tough game,” Liberty Coach Matt Robinson said after the game. “The kids played hard, but the second chance opportunities and a couple runs killed us. We just have to do a better job and work harder in practice. We’ll be back to work tomorrow.”

“Liberty played hard and gave a good run, but we played well as a team tonight,” Fallsburg Coach Lionel White said. “We rebounded well and got the W.”

Fallsburg hosted Chester for a second league match in as many nights on Wednesday night, and Liberty is heading to O’Neill tonight for a league contest.