Flames Make Journey to High Point on Tuesday
1/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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The Liberty Flames (13-6, 4-3 BSC) continue its road trip, traveling south to North Carolina to face the High Point Panthers (5-12, 1-6 BSC), Tuesday evening, inside the Millis Athletic Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The radio broadcast will air on the Flames Sports Network (flagship WRVL 88.3 FM), with Jerry Edwards providing the play-by-play for his 28th season. Additionally, an Internet audio broadcast on LibertyFlames.com will be available. There will also be a live video stream of the broadcast via the Big South EDGE, available on BigSouthSports.com.
Recent Results
Liberty enters tonight's game after winning three straight Big South games, improving the Flames' mark to 4-3 in league play. Saturday afternoon, Seth Curry poured in a career-high 35 points and Anthony Smith pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds to defeat the Big South's only undefeated team, VMI, 91-80. On Jan. 12, Curry and Brolin Floyd each tallied 15 point to lead Liberty to a 68-55 triumph over the visiting Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. The victory came two days after Liberty snapped a two-game losing streak with a 79-60 win over Charleston Southern. Curry tallied a game-high 27 points, while Anthony Smith scored 13 points, as Liberty finished the game on a 32-12 run to seal the victory.
Liberty entered the Charleston Southern game on the heels of a two game losing streak and had dropped five of its previous nine contests by a combined 12 points, with each setback coming on the road. The final loss in the string of setbacks was when the Flames fell in double-overtime at Presbyterian on Jan. 5. Seth Curry's trey as time expired in the first overtime forced a second extra frame, but it wasn't enough as Liberty fell by one point, 67-66. Anthony Smith collected a double-double with 27 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Prior to the Jan. 5 setback, Liberty lost at Winthrop on Jan. 3, 59-57. Smith led Liberty in points with 24.
Liberty versus High Point
Tonight's contest marks the 22nd all-time meeting between the two schools in basketball. Liberty leads the series, 12-9. Liberty is 10-1 against the Panthers inside the Vines Center, including seven straight. Only twice has a team swept the season series. Liberty went 3-0 in the series during the
2004 season, concluding with an 89-44 victory in the Big South Championship game. High Point swept the 2001 series, which included the Panther's lone win in the Vines Center.
Liberty's last win in the Millis Athletic Center came on Jan. 31, 2004, when five Flames tallied double figures, led by Gabe Martin's 15 points, capturing the 67-56 victory.
All-Time Series Results
Feb. 6, 2008 L (53-67) High Point, N.C.
Jan. 26, 2008 W (55-51) Lynchburg
Feb. 3, 2007 W (96-79) Lynchburg
Jan. 17, 2007 L (71-77) High Point, N.C.
Feb. 25, 2006 L (49-78) High Point, N.C.
Jan. 3, 2006 W (93-80) Lynchburg
Feb.2, 2005 W (86-81) Lynchburg
Jan. 5, 2005 L (56-73) High Point, N.C.
Mar. 6, 2004 W (89-44) Lynchburg
Jan. 31, 2004 W (67-56) High Point, N.C.
Jan. 10, 2004 W (79-66) Lynchburg
Feb. 26, 2003 L (68-72) High Point, N.C.
Jan. 9, 2003 W (74-70) Lynchburg
Feb. 16, 2002 L (98-99) ** High Point, N.C.
Jan. 24, 2002 L (58-73) Lynchburg
Feb. 17, 2001 W (77-72) Lynchburg
Jan. 31, 2001 W (65-61) High Point, N.C.
Feb. 16, 2000 L (65-71) High Point, N.C.
Feb. 1, 2000 W (88-63) Lynchburg
Feb. 13, 1999 W (72-55) Lynchburg
Jan. 23, 1999 L (89-93) * High Point, N.C.
* - Overtime Game
** - Double Overtime Game
Liberty's All-Time Top Scoring Freshman
Name Year Points PPG
1. George Sweet 1973 524 19.4
2. Larry Blair 2004 427 13.2
3. Seth Curry 2009 396 20.8
4. Steve Isaacs 1980 387 9.9
5. Rod Martin 1980 379 9.7
6. David Dees 2004 347 10.5
7. Karl Hess 1977 300 11.1
Smith Climbs Career Minutes Played List
Senior Anthony Smith currently sits fourth all-time in the Liberty annals in minutes played. The Plano, Texas native has played 3,566 minutes in his career, ranking behind only Larry Blair (4,123), Matt Hildebrand (3,729) and Larry Jackson (3,694). Based on his current minutes per game averages and barring injury, Smith should finish the regular season No. 2 all-time in the Liberty record books.
No Bench Points
Liberty tallied no bench points in their 91-80 victory at VMI on Saturday. Liberty has never scored that many points and won a game without any points from its bench. The last time Liberty received no bench points was on Nov. 16, 2006, at Oklahoma. Liberty lost to the Sooners, 74-48.
Curry Scores 30 Points and another Liberty First
Seth Curry scored 30 points on Dec. 22 against Northern Colorado, becoming the first freshman in the Liberty Division I era to score at least 30 points during a regular season contest. Jamaal Bennett tallied 35 points in the quarterfinals of the 1999 Big South Championship, making him the only other freshman in Liberty's Division I era. One other freshman in the Liberty annals has accomplished the feat, as George Sweet did so during the first year of the program, the 1972-73 season. Sweet tallied 30 points on the nose on three separate occasions. Curry became the first Division I Liberty freshman to reach the 30 point plateau twice, after tallying 35 points on Saturday at VMI.
Smith Eyeing the 1,000 Point/500 Rebound Club
Anthony Smith needs 18 more rebounds to become the 36th player in Big South history to score at least 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds. Should Smith accomplish the feat, he would become the ninth player in program history to accomplish the feat and the fourth in the Division I era.
Smith Eyeing the 1,500 Point/500 Rebound Club
Anthony Smith has 1,492 career points and 482 career rebounds. He is in a sprint with VMI's Travis Holmes (1,443 points and 491 rebounds) to become the ninth player in Big South history with 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Curry Top Scoring Freshman in the Nation
Seth Curry's 26-point performance at Virginia on Nov. 25 pushed his points per game average to 22.3, helping him bypass the Cavaliers' Sylven Landesberg (22.0) as the nation's top scoring true freshman. Curry has held the distinction ever since and is currently the only freshman in the Top 50 in scoring and is No. 20 overall at 20.8 ppg.
Flames Ranked in CollegeInsider.com's Top 25 Mid-Major Poll
Currently, the Flames are ranked No. 21 in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The recent poll came out on Jan. 12, marking the sixth straight week Liberty was ranked.
Liberty's Week-by-Week Ranking
Jan. 12 (21)
Jan. 5 (15)
Dec. 29 (12)
Dec. 22 (15)
Dec. 15 (12)
Dec. 8 (13)
Dec. 1 (RV)
For the first time in program history, the Liberty Flames were ranked in the CollegeInsider.com's Top 25 Mid-Major Poll, when Liberty garnered a No. 13 ranking in the Dec. 8 poll. Liberty had received votes before, but never was able to crack the Top 25. The poll is released every Monday during the season, between 5-8 p.m. EST.
Assist to Turnover Starter Stat
Four of Liberty's five starters currently have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Jesse Sanders (71-to-33), Kyle Ohman (50-to-38), Seth Curry (35-to-33) and Brolin Floyd (28-to-26) all have more assists than turnovers. The lone starter who is below the mark is Anthony Smith (38-to-45). Smith entered the Jan. 12 game with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio like his fellow starters.
Curry Tallies a Big South Conference First
Seth Curry was named Choice Hotels Big South Player of the Week on Dec. 1, making the first time that a true freshman earned the weekly award since the institution of the Big South Freshman of the Week award for the 1990-91 season. Kennedy Okafor from Maryland-Baltimore County won the award as a redshirt freshman on Dec. 15, 1997.
Curry and Sanders Team Up for another Big South First
On Dec. 1, Seth Curry and Jesse Sanders were named Big South Player and Freshman of the Week respectively. It marked the first time in the history of the Big South Conference that a school swept the weekly awards, with the player of the week also being a freshman.
Curry Receives Weekly Accolades From ESPN's Dick Vitale
Seth Curry was named Dick Vitale's Diaper Dandy of the Week on Dec. 1 for his play against Virginia, Coker and William & Mary, all Flames' victories. Curry averaged 23.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg, while shooting 51.9 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from three-point land during that span.
Smith Played in his 100th Career Game
The Gardner-Webb game on Dec. 6 marked Anthony Smith's 100th career game and his 89th career start. The program record for games played is 122 by Larry Blair (2004-07). Barring injury, Smith is set to break the record on Feb. 24 against VMI.
Smith's Free Throw Attempts are Up
Anthony Smith is currently averaging 4.9 free throw attempts per contest. His attempts are up by 2.4 per game from last season. Smith attempted 2.5 shots from the charity stripe a season ago.
Ohman Crashes the Boards
Kyle Ohman is pulling down 5.3 rebounds a game this season. The average is 2.8 more caroms per contest then the former walk-on averaged a season ago.
Ohman Hitting the Trey
Since the arrival of head coach Ritchie McKay, Kyle Ohman has appeared in all 51 contests he has coached. Ohman only appeared in 10 games prior to McKay's arrival. Since the opening day of the 2007-08 season, Ohman has connected on 39.1 percent (108-of-276) of his three-point shots. Ohman's career 38.5 percent mark (110-of-286) ranks No. 3 all-time in the Liberty annals.
Smith on Liberty's Career Three-Point List
Anthony Smith has 180 career three-point field goals, ranking No. 4 all-time in the Liberty record books. Next on the list is Matt Hildebrand (207).
Curry in the Clutch
Seth Curry scored 13 points, on 6-of-7 shooting, during two overtime periods on Nov. 29, leading the Flames to an 80-74 victory over William & Mary. Curry's trey with 18 seconds tied the game at 71, sending the contest into the second overtime period. Curry's heroics helped him earn tournament MVP honors in the Liberty Thanksgiving Classic.
Curry in the Clutch Part II
Seth Curry reprised his role from the William & Mary double-overtime victory, helping Liberty dispose of George Mason in overtime on Dec. 1, 69-66. Curry's triple with 17.7 seconds left sent the game into the extra frame. From that juncture, Curry scored five of Liberty's eight points in overtime, including an 18-foot jumper to put the Flame ahead for good with 40.6 left in the extra period.
Curry in the Clutch Part III
Seth Curry nailed a three-point bucket at the buzzer in overtime on Jan. 5, sending the Flames to a second overtime at Presbyterian. Liberty would later fall in double-overtime, 67-66.
Ohman Ties a John Paul Jones Arena Record
Kyle Ohman scored 17-first half points against Virginia on Nov. 25, tying a John Paul Jones Arena record for first half points. Ohman shares the record with North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Hampton's Vincent Simpson.
Curry Ties another Record
Seth Curry played all 50 minutes during Liberty's double-overtime win against William & Mary on Nov. 29. By doing so, Curry tied the program record for minutes played in a game, becoming the fourth player to do so. The last time was by Mike Minett on Feb. 10, 1986, against Longwood, roughly four years and six months before Curry's birth.
Liberty Wins Three Against In-State Non-Conference Foes
The Dec. 1 win over George Mason gave Liberty three non-conference victories over intra-state Division I teams for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. Liberty beat James Madison (79-70), Richmond (64-61 2OT) and Virginia Tech (62-61) that season. This year, Liberty has topped Virginia (86-82), William & Mary (80-74 2OT) and George Mason (69-66 OT).
McKay Quickly Reaches 20th Victory at Liberty
Ritchie McKay tallied his 20th victory at Liberty on Nov. 29 over William & Mary, making him the quickest coach to 20 wins during Liberty's Division I era. It took McKay 37 games on Liberty Mountain to reach the mark. The only Liberty coach to reach 20 wins quicker was Jeff Meyer who earned his 20th victory in his 31st game at the helm. However, it took Meyer 53 games to collect his first 20 victories as a Division I coach.
McKay inside the Vines Center
Head Coach Ritchie McKay has a career 22-2 mark inside the Vines Center (.917 winning percentage). His two losses came on Jan. 15, 2008, to Winthrop (59-50) and on Feb. 26, 2008 to VMI (81-79). McKay won 11 straight inside the Vines Center, before his first setback.
Shooting the Trey
Liberty is averaging 25.1 three-point attempts a game. Opponents edge the Flames in that category, heaving up 25.7 long range shots a game.
Grabbing the Rebound
Liberty is sixth in the Big South Conference in rebounding margin. Opponents are rebounding 2.5 more caroms a game than the Flames. Liberty has been outrebounded in 13-of-19 games this season.
Assists are up and Turnovers down
Liberty has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.15, ranking Liberty second in the Big South. Jesse Sanders leads the team with a 2.15 ratio, as he has dished out 71 assists to 33 turnovers. That marks leads the Big South and is No. 33 nationally.
Sanders is Pulling Offensive Boards
Liberty's point guard, Jesse Sanders, has pulled down a team-high 41 offensive rebounds. He is averaging 2.2 offensive rebound per game average, or 22.0 percent of Liberty's team average.
Curry Joins Elite Liberty Circle
Freshman Seth Curry became the fourth Liberty freshman, and the third since the Flames moved to Division I, to reach the 20-point plateau in his collegiate debut, when he tallied 23 markers against Montreat on Nov. 14.
The first Liberty freshman to accomplish the feat was Willard DeShazor, who poured in 29 points against Tennessee Temple on Nov. 28, 1973. Chris Toomer scored 21 points against Maine on Nov. 23, 1990, in his first collegiate game. Jay Boykin was the last Liberty freshman, until Curry, to reach 20 points in his collegiate debut. He scored 20 points against Drake on Nov. 24, 1995, when Curry was five years old.
The previous three members of this exclusive Liberty club played all four years at Liberty, but Deshazor was the only player to reach the 1,000-point club (1,569). Toomer is next with 583 career points.
Overtime Drought is Over
Prior to Liberty's double-overtime affair with William & Mary on Nov. 29, the Flames played 75 overtime-free games. Prior to Nov. 29, the last time Liberty played in an overtime game was on Feb. 6, 2006, against UNC Asheville inside the Vines Center. Liberty eventually dropped the game, 83-81.
The streak served as the second-longest in program history and the longest during Liberty's Division I era. The longest Liberty streak without an overtime contest is 134 games from Dec. 8, 1972, until Dec. 9, 1977.
Curry Ties Vines Center Record in Debut
Seth Curry's seven steals against Montreat on Nov. 14 tied a Vines Center record that was originally set by Delawn Grandison on Jan. 7, 1999 against Tusculum and was last achieved by Maurice Watkins on Jan. 15, 2001 against Charleston Southern. Curry became one of seven players to record seven steals inside Liberty's home.
Back-to-Back Overtime Games
For the first time since January 1996, the Liberty Flames played back-to-back overtime games. Liberty lost to Radford on Jan. 15, 1996 (65-71) and defeated Charleston Southern (81-75) on Jan. 20, 1996.
Liberty is now 20-29 all time in overtime games after defeating George Mason on Dec. 1. Prior to these past two overtime victories, the Flames last overtime victory was on Dec. 4, 2004, when Liberty topped Shenandoah inside the Vines Center, 71-67. Liberty is 3-3 all-time in double-overtime games. The Flames last victory in double overtime prior to Dec. 1 was on Dec. 7, 1999, when Liberty bested Richmond, 64-61.
Notes From Virginia Win
Liberty's win over Virginia snapped the Cavaliers 36-game November home winning streak, which dated back to 1994. The win also snapped Virginia's 16-game winning streak against Big South opponents, which dated back to Liberty's last win over the Cavaliers in 1998. The win also snapped Virginia's 15-game winning streak against non-conference in-state opponents, which dated back to 2002.
Seth Curry and Kyle Ohman led Liberty with 26 points, while Anthony Smith chipped in 21 markers. The performance by the trio marked the first time three players have scored 20 against Virginia in the same game since Juan Dixon (23), Chris Wilcox (21) and Lonny Baxter (20) did so for Maryland on March 3, 2002.
New Faces
Liberty returned 33.5 points of its 69.4 points per game from last season, and 56 percent of those points came from Liberty's lone returning starter, Anthony Smith (16.0 ppg). Included in the returning points per game number is three total points from Tyler Baker, who appeared in one game, before giving way to injury and James Spencer, a walk-on who tallied two total points. The final returnees, Kyle Ohman and Jeremy Anderson chipped in 7.7 ppg and 6.8 ppg, respectively.
The Curry/Lynchburg Connection
Freshman Seth Curry isn't the only member of his family to appear in a college game on the Liberty campus. Seth's father, Dell Curry, as a freshman, poured in a game-high 19 points, on 7-of-13 shooting, for Virginia Tech on Dec. 7, 1982, in the Hokies' 71-53 triumph over the Flames.
The game featured two fathers of 2008 All-Americans. Dell's older son Stephen is an All-American performer at Davidson, while the Flames' Eric Gordon saw his son, Eric Gordon, Jr. picked in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers after an All-American season at Indiana. Liberty's Gordon, scored six points and dished out two assists against Curry's Virginia Tech squad that cold December night in 1982.
My Brother is an All-American
Freshmen Seth Curry and Jesse Sanders each are younger siblings of All-Americans from last season. Curry's older brother Stephen is currently an All-American performer at Davidson, nearly lifting the Wildcats to the 2008 Final Four. Sanders' older brother Thomas earned All-American honors at Gardner-Webb after being named 2008 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year. The elder Sanders poured in 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 84-68 upset win at No. 20 Kentucky on Nov. 8, 2007.
10 Wins Prior to New Years
Liberty defeated Cincinnati Christian on Dec. 28, marking the first time in program history the Flames have recorded 10 wins before New Years. Three times, the program has managed nine wins before New Years, doing so during the 1979-80, 1983-84 and 1996-97 seasons.
Next on the Scoring List for Anthony Smith
With 1,492 career points, Anthony Smith sits in 11th place all-time in the Liberty annals for scoring and fifth in Division I scoring. On Jan. 5, Smith passed George Sweet (1,422), a four-year letterwinner from 1973-76, and Liberty's first 1,000 point scorer.
Next up on the scoring list is Matt Hildebrand (1,515), a four-year letterwinner from 1991-94. Smith needs 24 points to move past Hildebrand into 10th place all-time and fourth place in Division I scoring.
Smith Starts Slow From Beyond the Arc
Anthony Smith shot 26.2 percent (16-of-61) from beyond the arc through the season's first 12 games. Since his slow start, Smith is shooting 48.7 percent (19-of-39) from three-point range over the past seven games.
This is nothing new for Smith, as the Plano, Texas native shot 27.3 percent (9-of-33) from three-point range through the first six games of last season. Smith heated up in game seven against Longwood on Nov. 27, 2007, connecting on 7-of-8 from three-point land, jumpstarting him to finish the final 26 games connecting on 43.6 percent (75-of-172) of his shots. Smith finished the year connecting on 41.0 percent (84-of-205) of his attempts, giving him the fifth-best success rate for a season in program history. The 84 three-point field goals and 205 three-point attempts were program bests.
Smith Can Shoot
Senior Anthony Smith was the only player in the nation in 2008 to attempt at least 200 three-point field goals and succeed on at least 40 percent of his three-point field goal attempts (41.0), while also connecting on 50 percent of his field goal attempts (51.5). He was one of five players in the nation to accomplish the same feat, while attempting at least 100 three-point field goals. The other players were Mario Chalmers (Kansas), Lee Cummard (BYU), Malik Hairston (Oregon) and James Harden (Arizona State).
Road Woes
The Flames have lost 42 of their last 50 road games, dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season. Three of the wins during the span came during the 2006-07 season. A 66-63 victory at Charleston Southern on Jan. 22, 2007, a 118-108 victory at VMI on Feb. 21, 2007 and a 64-48 win at Radford on Feb. 24, 2007. The victory in Lexington was the Flames first since Dec. 7, 1991, and the win at Radford was Liberty's first since Feb. 22, 1997. The fourth road win was a 55-53 triumph at East Carolina on Nov. 17, 2007, the fifth road win was on Jan. 28, 2008 at VMI, 87-81 and the sixth was a 65-51 triumph at Coastal Carolina on Feb. 16, 2008. Liberty secured its seventh road victory during that span on Nov. 25 at Virginia, 86-82. For the third time during the stretch, Liberty won against VMI, at Cameron Hall on Saturday, 91-80.
