The District 11 6A title game looked a lot familiar as it did last year. The Liberty High School boys basketball team was back in the championship game for the second year in-a-row and looking for some revenge, falling to Parkland last season.

The third-seeded Hurricanes were in a great position to win their first title since 2010, leading by five points heading into the fourth quarter, but the defending champion top-seeded Trojans were not ready to give up the reigns and rallied in that final frame to walk off the Easton Area Middle School court as 49-41 winners last Saturday night.

After Angel Holguin connected on a tip from an inbound pass that beat the buzzer to cap a 9-0 run, his team found themselves ahead 34-29 after three quarters. Defensively, Liberty was playing just as well, holding Parkland without a field goal for almost seven minutes spanning between the third and four quarters. But the Trojans, who also won this season’s Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title, played like defending champions, and made a comeback. It just came from an uncommon source, center Zaire Smaltz. Smaltz took a pass early in the fourth quarter and drained a 3-pointer, just his fifth made three of his high school career.

That shot sparked a 20-7 fourth quarter rally that put Parkland over the top and in the win column.

“Credit Parkland,” head coach Nigel Long said. “Especially at the end there in the fourth quarter, they got some big offensive rebounds that were backbreakers for us. I’m sure we’d want some possessions back there offensively in the fourth quarter. I’m really proud of our guys, man. We really battled. We fought to be up by five there late. Our effort can’t be questioned. That’s something as a coach, and as a leader of a program, I’m proud of.”

With the score tied 34-34 with 5:25 left to play, Blake Hargrove stopped the run and scored to give his team the lead right back. But Parkland scored on its next three possessions, including a dunk by Smaltz that seemed to ignite his team even more than his surprising 3-pointer and the Trojans found themselves ahead 40-36 with 2:10 remaining. Caden Vermuelen drained a shot from distance to pull his team to within just one, 40-39, but Parkland went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line and did not let the Hurricanes back in front the rest of the way.

Liberty had another successful season, making it back to the district final, even without last season’s leading scorer, Dywane Chess Jr., who transferred to a prep school before this season.

“We just preach next man up,” Long said. “I’m so proud of our guys. Twenty wins are not easy ... To be at this point, we’re thankful and blessed, but obviously disappointed in the outcome.”

Vermuelen and Jake Pukszyn both finished with team-highs of 10 points. Hargrove tallied nine points, Will Palmer contributed seven points and Holguin added five points.

Liberty advances to the state tournament and will actually host its First Round game this Saturday afternoon when it takes on District One’s sixth seed, Coatesville, at 3 p.m.