Liberty University
8-7
Kentucky Christian
10-8
Records Fall in Liberty Non-Conference Romp
1/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Four Vines Center records were matched or broken as the Liberty Flames gallivanted to an 84-45 victory over the Kentucky Christian Knights, in its final non-conference tune-up, Tuesday night, inside the Vines Center.
The win moves Liberty to 8-7, the second time this season the Flames have been above the .500 mark. Following the loss, Kentucky Christian falls to 10-8 on the year.
Kentucky Christian started the game perfect, hitting its first three shots, including back-to-back three-point buckets by Eric McKee, staking the Knights to an 8-5 lead at 17:29.
The Flames then rattled off a 16-2 run to take at 21-10 lead at 13:23. B.J. Jenkins ended the surge with a lay-up. The run also included two three-point baskets by Kyle Ohman and another trey by Anthony Smith, his second up to that point in the game.
Liberty then went on another run to take a 38-19 lead. The 17-9 jaunt was capped by Ohman's third trey of the first stanza at 5:25. The Knights hit two three-point buckets by Kalen Jones down the stretch to enter the intermission trailing the Flames by 15 points, 45-30.
Liberty shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the floor, including 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from three-point range in the opening period.
Smith led all scorers in the first period of play with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while Alex McLean tallied his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. TeeJay Bannister dished out 10 assists for the second-straight contest, this time he reached the mark in the first half.
Kentucky Christian hit 31.3 percent (10-of-32) of its shots from the floor in the first half. The Knights kept the score a little close due to matching the Flames' seven three-point field goals, as Kentucky Christian hit at a 35.0 percent (7-of-20) clip from behind the arch.
The second half was all Liberty as the Flames went into the eight-minute media timeout yielding only seven second half points to take a 71-37 advantage. From there Liberty emptied the bench and cruised to the easy 84-45 victory.
The Flames shot over 50 percent for the third-straight contest, finishing at 50.8 percent (32-of-63). The Flames also connected on 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from three-point range The Knights finished the night hitting 25.4 percent (16-of-63) and were outrebounded by Liberty, 59-22. The Flames' 59 rebounds matched a Vines Center record set against Averett on Dec. 12, 1992.
Smith led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The game served as Smith's third-straight contest in which the junior has reached the 20-point plateau. Bannister tallied a career-high 13 assists, breaking his previous best of 12 which was established on Jan. 5, 2004, while the senior was at Virginia. Bannister's mark also broke a Vines Center record (12) set by Beau Wallace on Jan. 13, 2001, against Charleston Southern.
McLean finished off his double-double with 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds. McLean's rebound number matched a Vines Center record he set last season against Lipscomb. Freshman Jeremy Anderson chipped in a season-high 11 points in the victory.
Kentucky Christian managed only 15 points in the second period, breaking a Vines Center record for futility in Liberty's hallowed edifice. The previous low was set by Averett, who managed just 16 points in the first half on Dec. 18, 1993.
The Knights were led by Jones who tallied a team-high 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting. Matt Hackenberg finished with 12 points in the losing cause. Liberty, who leads the Big South Conference in three-point field goal percentage, held Kentucky Christian to a stunted 25.4 percent on 8-of-34 shooting.
Liberty opens up Big South Conference play on Saturday when they travel to UNC Asheville. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m., inside the Justice Center.
Tip-Ins
VMI's Reggie Williams tallied 43 points against Southern Virginia, allowing the senior to pass Liberty's Larry Blair as the Big South Conference's all-time leading scorer. Blair set the mark (2,211) on Feb. 21, 2007 at VMI.
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