Though their records don’t show it, the starting pitchers in Monday’s Seminole District baseball tournament opener — Brookville’s Jay Graham and Liberty’s Jake Tanner — were their staffs’ aces.

Backed by a balanced scoring attack and a stingy defense, Liberty’s boys basketball team knocked off Brookville 53-40 on Saturday night in the Hive to capture the Region III, Division 3, tournament title.

Seven different Minutemen scored, including a 16-point outburst from Kordero Thompson. The 6-foot-3 Thompson was adept all night at creating his own shot and finishing at the rim, where he scored the bulk of his points.

FOREST — Even if they didn’t always result in points, the steals Liberty High’s boys basketball team generated throughout Friday night’s Region III, Division 3, semifinal against Northside took their toll.

The Minutemen’s tenacious defense and Northside’s stagnant offense resulted in an 11-minute second-half scoring drought for the Vikings, allowing Liberty to pull away for a 55-37 blowout in a game played at Jefferson Forest.

Logan Thomas scored most of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter to give Brookville the boost it needed in a thrilling 52-49 victory over visiting Liberty in Friday night’s Seminole District tournament final.

“He really took it in his own hands in the fourth quarter,” coach Chris Young said following the Bees’ third consecutive tournament crown after sharing their third straight regular-season title with the Minutemen.

Chris Harmon scored his 1,000th career point as Liberty beat Rustburg 72-41 Thursday night to set up a showdown with Brookville tonight with first place in the Seminole District on the line.

Harmon scored 12 points as Liberty (17-5, 10-2 Seminole) outscored the Red Devils 42-15 in the second half to turn a tight game into a rout.

FOREST — Chris Harmon doesn’t easily give up on a missed shot. Twice early in the fourth quarter of Liberty’s 61-54 win at Jefferson Forest on Friday night, Harmon drove hard in the lane, missed, but outworked his defender to the ball for an easy putback.

BEDFORD — Three of the Seminole District’s best big men met Wednesday night in a game that would break a stalemate for first place in the regular-season standings.

Playing without second-leading scorer Sylvon Jones, who suffered a mild concussion from a car accident earlier this week, Heritage could not muster enough offense to keep up with Liberty’s athletic Minutemen, falling 76-63 Friday in a Seminole District basketball game.

When Liberty High’s football team travels to Robert E. Lee for tonight’s Division 3, Region III semifinal, the Minutemen could have a tough time tackling quarterback Dae’Quan Scott, the Southern Valley District offensive player of the year.

“He’s one of the faster backs we’ve seen in a long time,” Liberty coach Chris Watts said, noting he is the primary runner in the Fighting Leemen’s spread formation. “He’s rushed for an enormous amount of yards. He’s a very good quarterback-slash-running back.”

BEDFORD — The chain reaction began with a seemingly innocuous fumble late in the game, with Liberty up two touchdowns and trying to grind out the clock.

Then Lord Botetourt scored a touchdown and recovered an iffy onside kick. Only when Vonte Harper intercepted Dalton Hargrove’s wobbly pass in the closing seconds could the Minutemen breathe easy, having escaped with a 21-14 victory in the opening round of the Region III, Division 3, playoffs Friday night.

Lord Botetourt, which travels to Bedford tonight to take on Liberty in the first round of the Region III, Division 3, playoffs, could be one of the best 3-7 football teams in the state of Virginia.

The Cavaliers are, in Liberty coach Chris Watts’ estimation, an improved squad from last year’s 4-6 team that lost to the Minutemen 47-14 in Daleville.

BEDFORD — There’s no way Jefferson Forest running back Desmond Goode should not have been taken down on each of his two second-half touchdown runs in Friday night’s regular-season finale at Seminole District and Bedford County rival Liberty.

But Goode, who finished with 184 yards rushing on 18 carries, eluded the initial tackles in traffic then emerged from a pack of Minutemen and accelerated up the sideline for 64- and 52-yard scores that sealed the Cavaliers’ 30-14 victory.

Thanks to the expanded Division 3 and 4 football playoff format, which qualifies six teams rather than four, Bedford County rivals Liberty and Jefferson Forest both have clinched Region III berths for the first time in the same season in recent history going into tonight’s Seminole District finale in Bedford.

But both teams, which sport identical 6-3 records (3-2 in district play) have plenty to play for — namely securing their No. 3 seeds and taking home-field advantage and momentum into the first round of the playoffs.

RUSTBURG — Before Friday night’s game against Rustburg, Liberty coach Chris Watts was reluctant to unleash junior backup fullback Brandon Sparrow in the rushing attack.

The bruising 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive tackle was too valuable to the Minutemen on defense, as he showed in assaulting the Red Devils’ option game in the first half.

Sparrow got his opportunity to showcase his offensive potential after halftime and made the most of it, carrying 10 times for 141 yards and three touchdowns in Liberty’s 41-26 Seminole District victory.

BEDFORD — After a scoreless first quarter, Amherst got its offense rolling as the Lancers scored 19 unanswered points in the second quarter and cruised to a 47-6 victory over Liberty in a Seminole District football game Saturday.