COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Coming into Saturday's Division I district final against No. 6 Hilliard Davidson, the benchmark for No. 4 Olentangy Liberty to hit was 61 points, as the Wildcats had gone 2-4 in games where teams hit that mark this season. 

Surpassing that total with 2:42 remaining, Liberty and its fluid offense powered past Davidson in a 72-65 victory for its second-district title in school history. 

Behind 29 points from senior star Ben Roderick, Liberty survived an early Davidson onslaught from three. Closing the first quarter on a 7-0 run, Roderick's transition bucket with a second remaining put the Patriots up 24-18 after a period of action.

Dictating a pace in the first quarter that clearly favored Liberty, the Patriots liked where they were at after eight minutes. 

Battling back and forth in a first half that featured 12 made threes from both teams, Liberty once again closed on a scoreless run, this time an 8-0 surge tipped off by five straight transition points from Roderick to send Liberty into halftime with a 40-32 advantage.

In a game where Davidson senior Jacob Drees was absolutely unstoppable with 33 points, Liberty was just too tough on the offensive end whenever the Wildcats looked to take the lead.

A triple from Drees with 3:35 to go in the third tied the game at 44, however, Liberty responded with another crucial run, outscoring Davidson 7-3 in the rest of the period to take a 51-47 lead into the fourth quarter.

Davidson closed to within three, as a strong post score from Drees cut the deficit to 52-49 with 7:12 remaining.

Roderick once again responded right back, as five-straight points from the senior helped Liberty stretch its lead back to eight points at 57-49 with 6:29 to go.

Drees wasn't rattled, as he came back down the floor and buried a three.

After forcing a stop, Drees knocked down another three which would have cut the deficit to 57-55 with just under five minutes to go.  However, a questionable illegal screen was called on junior Gage Keys, which then led to an 8-3 run for the Patriots over the next three minutes, as a free throw from senior Nick Nakasian stretched the Patriot lead to double digits at 65-55 with 1:52 left to play.

From that point forward, Davidson got no closer than seven the rest of the way, as Roderick closed the game by going a Wendy's 4-for-4 at line in the final 30 seconds to lead Liberty to the district title.

The unsigned 6-foot-5 senior Roderick led all Liberty scorers with 29 points, showing great finishing ability through contact at the rim. When Davidson senior Ethan Royer was off the floor, Roderick was most effective, as he lived at the free throw line in the second half.

Roderick was joined with great scoring performances from Nakasian and Hinkle, who combined for 33 points. Nakasian had another high energy performance, doing the dirty work for the Patriots while Hinkle came off the bench and buried three key triples to finish with 16 points.

The rest of the Liberty rotation combined for 10 points, as the trio of Roderick, Nakasian and Hinkle did the heavy lifting. 

For Davidson, Drees was absolutely unstoppable, putting his 6-foot-7 frame to use to dominate with 33 points and five rebounds. The Cedarville signee looked the part of a potential Division I prospect, knocking down an eye-popping seven threes, scoring at will in the post and serving as Davidson's primary ball handler for most of the game.

Fellow forward Christian Gillilan added 10 points and four rebounds, as the 6-foot-7 senior showed off his versatility defending on the perimeter and knocking down a pair of threes. Keys pitched in eight points and five rebounds, but missed a crucial stretch in the fourth quarter with foul trouble.

Senior guard Caleb Stimmel added eight points on two threes, while no other Davidson player finished with more than four points. After making its third trip to the district finals in the last four years, Davidson will enter next season still looking to add to the program's lone 2000 title. 

Liberty advances to the regional tournament to take on No. 3 Pickerington Central on Thursday, March 14 at 7 p.m. at Ohio Dominican.

Thursday's regional semifinal will feature a battle of the area's top two unsigned seniors as Roderick and Central's Javohn Garcia will go to war for a spot in the regional final.