Flames Knock Off First Place VMI, 91-80

Seth Curry and Anthony Smith each had career days, as the Liberty Flames (13-6, 4-3 BSC) snapped the VMI Keydets (14-3, 6-1 BSC) winning streak at 10 games, Saturday afternoon, 91-80, in front of a capacity crowd of 5,029 fans inside Cameron Hall.

The gathering at Cameron Hall served as the first capacity crowd in the facility's history, topping previous appearances by North Carolina and a Ralph Samson led Virginia squad.

Keith Gabriel stroked a three at 17:33, giving VMI an early five point edge, 7-2. Liberty bounced back quickly, as a Kyle Ohman trey at 14:36 capped an 8-2 run, allowing the Flames to take their first lead on the afternoon, 10-9.

The Keydets retook the lead, 23-16, courtesy of a 14-6 jaunt. Chavis Holmes finished off the sprint with a three-point bucket at 11:49. The run include another Gabriel trey and a Willie Bell bucket in the paint.

Liberty stormed back, running out to a 10 point lead, 36-26, as the visitors netted 20 of the game's next 23 points. Curry hit three field goals from beyond the arc and punctuated the scoring burst with a two point field goal at 1:21. Curry scored 13 of Liberty's 20 points during the run.

Two Gabriel buckets in the closing minute broke up the Liberty sprint, before Anthony Smith grabbed an offensive board after Gabriel blocked a Jesse Sanders shot, placing the ball through the cylinder with 2.2 seconds left. The bucket sent the Flames into the intermission with a nine point lead, 39-30.

Liberty connected on 45.5 percent (15-of-33) of its shots during the first half, including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from three-point land. Curry scored 20 first half points and Smith collected his eighth career double-double in the opening period, including his fourth against the Keydets.

VMI hit 39.4 percent (13-of-33) of its shots in the first half, including 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from beyond the three-point line.

The Flames pushed their lead up to 13 points, 46-33, scoring 10 of the first 13 points in the second period. Smith tallied a bucket in the paint at 17:17, ending the run. Liberty then extended its lead to 16 points, 55-39, when Curry sank his fourth free consecutive free throw at 13:54.

VMI regained its composure and surged back into the contest, cutting its deficit to seven points, 55-48, via nine straight points. Austin Kenon capped the run with a lay-up at 12:08. However, the lane jumper would prove be as close as the home team would get the remainder of the game.

Liberty quickly extended the lead back up to 17 points, 67-50, courtesy of a Sanders old-fashioned three-point play at 9:22, to finish off a 12-2 spurt. Liberty extended the lead up to 20 points, 75-55, via two Ohman makes from the charity stripe at 6:04.

The Keydets worked hard to try and get back in the game, cutting the Liberty lead down to 12 points, 87-75, after a Kenon free throw sank though the nets at 2:13. But, Liberty would run right down the court and burry a three by Ohman at the 1:49 mark to thwart the attended rally.

The Liberty lead got back to 15 points, 87-72, following an Ohman long-range bucket, before VMI scored eight of the game's last 12 points to close the final margin to 11 points, 91-80.

Liberty, who leads the Big South in field goal shooting percentage, increases its season average by shooting 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the floor, while hitting 42.9 percent (9-of-21) of its three-point attempts. The game also marked the eighth contest Liberty has shot over 50 percent from the floor and the 53.2 average is the fifth best on the year.

The Flames won the rebound war by 18 caroms, 48-30, marking only the sixth time all season Liberty has recorded more rebounds than an opponent. The 91 points are the second highest scoring output for the Flames this season and the highest against a Division I opponent.

Curry led all scorers with his career-high 35 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Curry went 4-of-6 from three-point range and connected on all 11 of his free throw attempts. Smith pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to go with his 21 points.

Ohman chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds, while Sanders nearly secured a triple-double with 12 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Sanders' rebound and assist totals tied career highs for the freshman. Liberty's bench was held to zero points for the first time all season, while the starting five tallied Liberty's 91 point total.

VMI connected on 40.3 percent (29-of-72) of its shots, while hitting 30.0 percent (9-of-30) of its three-point attempts.

Kenon tallied a team-high 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting. Holmes tallied 17 points, while Gabriel tallied 16 points. Bell added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds in the losing effort.

Liberty returns to action on Tuesday, when they travel to the Millis Athletic Center to face the High Point Panthers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

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Flames Knock Off First Place VMI, 91-80

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Team Stats

Seth Curry

Anthony Smith

Kyle Ohman

Jesse Sanders