When Alderson-Broaddus' Sam Liggins pulled up and buried a 27-foot shot to beat the buzzer, only the halftime intermission could delay Shepherd's demise.

Liggins scored 28 points Thursday in the Battlers' 87-61 quarterfinal victory, hitting five of his seven 3-point attempts.

But the one that did the most damage gave A-B a 40-33 halftime lead, providing a cushion in what was a hard-fought game to that point.

"Actually, [the defender] gave me a lot of space," Liggins said. "I just pulled up and shot it. I was surprised I had that much space. I thought he'd try to stop me, at least at halfcourt. He let me keep going, so I just shot it."

"Liggins was 4-for-6 [from 3-point range] in the first half," said Shepherd coach Justin Namolik. "He just told the story of what was to come."

And what a story that was, from A-B's view.

The Battlers (25-4) never allowed the Rams (13-16) to get any closer, maintaining its 50-plus-percent shooting and finishing with just four turnovers. Defensively, A-B wore Shepherd down with an active zone defense, holding the Rams to 28.6 percent in the second half and forcing eight of their 12 turnovers.

The Battlers were riddled by 6-foot-8 Justin Jarman early, as he had 12 first-half points. But he was denied the ball and held to four points after halftime.

"When we went to the zone, I thought that might have changed it as much as anything," said A-B coach Greg Zimmerman.

"Just took them out of rhythm, took them out of their inside game a little bit. We got a couple steals and a couple easy baskets there, so it snowballed for us."

Stan Hall supplied much of the rest of A-B's scoring punch, finishing with 23 points. He was 9-of-10 from the foul line, leading his team's 27-of-31 effort there. Montel Lee, Terrell Eargle and Mark Summerfield pitched in eight points apiece. Eargle had four steals and four assists.

Derek Gallagher led the Rams, scoring 17 points off the bench. After Jarman's 16, Liki Turner added 15.

Second-seeded A-B tangles with No. 3 West Liberty at 6:30 p.m. today in the first men's semifinal.

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.

When Alderson-Broaddus' Sam Liggins pulled up and buried a 27-foot shot to beat the buzzer, only the halftime intermission could delay Shepherd's demise.

Liggins scored 28 points Thursday in the Battlers' 87-61 quarterfinal victory, hitting five of his seven 3-point attempts.

But the one that did the most damage gave A-B a 40-33 halftime lead, providing a cushion in what was a hard-fought game to that point.

"Actually, [the defender] gave me a lot of space," Liggins said. "I just pulled up and shot it. I was surprised I had that much space. I thought he'd try to stop me, at least at halfcourt. He let me keep going, so I just shot it."

"Liggins was 4-for-6 [from 3-point range] in the first half," said Shepherd coach Justin Namolik. "He just told the story of what was to come."

And what a story that was, from A-B's view.

The Battlers (25-4) never allowed the Rams (13-16) to get any closer, maintaining its 50-plus-percent shooting and finishing with just four turnovers. Defensively, A-B wore Shepherd down with an active zone defense, holding the Rams to 28.6 percent in the second half and forcing eight of their 12 turnovers.

The Battlers were riddled by 6-foot-8 Justin Jarman early, as he had 12 first-half points. But he was denied the ball and held to four points after halftime.

"When we went to the zone, I thought that might have changed it as much as anything," said A-B coach Greg Zimmerman.

"Just took them out of rhythm, took them out of their inside game a little bit. We got a couple steals and a couple easy baskets there, so it snowballed for us."

Stan Hall supplied much of the rest of A-B's scoring punch, finishing with 23 points. He was 9-of-10 from the foul line, leading his team's 27-of-31 effort there. Montel Lee, Terrell Eargle and Mark Summerfield pitched in eight points apiece. Eargle had four steals and four assists.

Derek Gallagher led the Rams, scoring 17 points off the bench. After Jarman's 16, Liki Turner added 15.

Second-seeded A-B tangles with No. 3 West Liberty at 6:30 p.m. today in the first men's semifinal.

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.