As London Praytor exited Liberty’s locker room Tuesday, he walked up a pair of bleachers to find Mesa Ridge’s coach.

Praytor found Grizzlies coach Joel Babbitt, who extended his hand for the Lancers’ senior to shake. Both exchanged pleasantries and congratulated one another.

After the swift exchange, Babbitt with a grin on his face, in jest, said, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The Lancers ended the Grizzlies’ 22-game winning streak dating back to last season and knocked off the two-time 5A defending champs 47-44 in the season opener.

Babbitt, who teaches at Liberty, said the Lancers have a lot of potential this season. Liberty players agree.

“We have chips on our shoulders,” said Akai Council. “We have a lot to prove. I think coming into this game humble helped us to get the win.”

The Lancers (1-0) finished last season 7-15 and had not won a season opener since 2021. But the Lancers entered their first matchup of the season prepared for a Grizzlies team that had not lost since Dec. 12, 2023.

After building an 11-7 lead in the first quarter, the Grizzlies hit a heater in the second and closed the gap to 21-20 at the break.

In the third, Mesa Ridge (0-1) took a 24-23 lead with 3 minutes left in the quarter after Zander Iwanski stole the ball and found Jeremiah Warren for the layup.

Liberty coach Aaron Thomas called time out and told his players to “stop rushing,” and they responded.

The Lancers closed the third on a 7-0 run, including a steal and dunk by Council to close the frame with a 30-24 lead.

“A year ago when I’d get on those guys like that during a timeout, they were so young and they couldn’t handle that,” Thomas said. “The way we played tonight and how they responded after that timeout just shows that this group is battle tested. They take hard coaching well from me, and I think we closed the game well.”

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Lancers built their biggest lead at 38-30 and forced the Grizzlies to burn a timeout.

Mesa Ridge then used an 11-6 run to cut the lead to 44-41 with 57.7 seconds left in the game.

After scoring buckets in the first quarter, Iwanski and Bryce Riehl struggled for the next two.

Praytor, who finished with 13 rebounds and nine blocks, played a role in keeping the Grizzlies’ stars off the board by forcing players to adjust to his 7-foot frame.

But the Grizzlies seniors erupted in the fourth quarter. Iwanski hit a pair of 3-pointers and Riehl added another to cut the Lancers’ lead to 3.

Riehl finished with six points in the fourth, including the Grizzlies’ final points, three consecutive made free throws, to trim the lead to 47-44. The Grizzlies had an opportunity to tie the score with four seconds left.

Liberty turned it over on its inbounds play, but Riehl’s last-second heave hit glass and missed the rim as Lancers’ players returned to their bench to celebrate the victory.

“They caught the ball and had to go the full length of the court,” Thomas said. “I liked our chances there. Bryce is a phenomenal kid. He hit some shots against us that only Bryce Riehl can hit. Thankfully, though, we hung on at the end.”