Liberty may have went through a mini-losing streak over the holidays, but the Hurricanes are back on track in the new year after posting their fourth straight win on Tuesday night in a 57-47 victory over Freedom.

Blake Hargrove led the way with 21 points and Jake Pukszyn (11 points) and Caden Vermuelen (10 points) each posted double digits to push the ‘Canes to 10-3 on the season.

Head coach Nigel Long is happy to see the progress the group has made since the winter break.

“We still have a ton of work to do, however, I am proud of the way our guys stayed together and stayed connected through the holiday stretch,” said Long. “We played some good quality teams over that time period which made us better. During the holidays we were able to deepen our rotation and gain contributions from some more of our guys. We also got a chance to experience the environment of the legendary Geigle Complex and play some great competition along the way.”

Liberty looks to keep their momentum going this week with a showdown with Nazareth (9-3) on Friday, in what will be a pivotal meeting in the East Penn Conference standings.

Long knows the team will be led by the likes of Hargrove, Pukszyn and Vermuelen, but getting consistent performances from the role players on the roster is what will keep Liberty in the hunt for the top spots in the conference.

“Jayden Dejesus has played well for us on both ends of the floor and N’Goli Croom also really contributed over the holiday break with his strength and toughness in the paint,” said Long. “Our depth has grown over the last couple of weeks. We are finding contributions from everyone which has been a positive. We’re hoping that will serve us well as we enter the month of January.”

Freedom (4-9) dropped their second straight game with the loss to Liberty, with both losses coming from Bethlehem city rivals.

Nathaniel Sletvold led the Pates in scoring Tuesday with 19 points, but he was the only player to reach double figures for the Pates.

Freedom has a chance to close out the week with some momentum when they take on Dieruff (5-6) Friday night.