RU Snatches Double Overtime Affair over LU

Seth Curry scored 30 points and Anthony Smith notched his ninth career double-double, but it wasn't enough as the Liberty Flames (14-7, 5-4 BSC) fell in double overtime to the Radford Highlanders (10-10, 7-2 BSC), Saturday night, in front of 7,392 fans inside the Vines Center, 94-82.

The loss snaps Liberty's 11 game home winning streak in front of the largest Vines Center crowd since the Flames fell to Winthrop in front 6,874 on Feb. 10, 2005. The loss drops head coach Ritchie McKay's record to 22-3 all-time in the Vines Center.

Liberty rode three straight treys by Curry for a narrow 9-6 lead at the 15:47 mark. After an old-fashioned three-point play by Joey Lynch-Flohr and a bucket by Artsiom Parakhouski for Radford, Kyle Ohman hit a three-pointer at 14:42 to lift Liberty back to a three point edge, 12-9.

Radford then stormed out to a 10 point lead, 26-16, thanks to a 17-4 run. An Amir Johnson three-point bucket at 6:51 capped a run, that included eight points by Parakahouski.

Liberty would hold the Highlanders from scoring for the next five minutes before Eric Hall hit both free throws at 1:43. During that time, Liberty cut its deficit to one point, 28-27, before Hall's shots from the charity stripe. Ohman hit a trey at 2:00 to cap the run.

Hall's markers from the free throw line extended the Radford lead to three points, 30-27. A Chris McEachin bucket with 1.1 seconds left capped a brief 5-3 spurt, giving the Highlanders a five point edge, 35-30, entering the intermission.

Liberty struggled from the floor in the first half, hitting 34.4 percent (11-of-32) of its attempts from the field, including 33.3 percent (6-of-18) from three-point land.

Radford fared much better, connecting at a 45.2 percent (14-of-31) clip, including a 37.5 percent rate (3-of-8) from beyond the arc.

Back-to-back buckets by Kenny Thomas extended the Radford advantage to six points, 40-34, with 17:48 left to play in the second half. Liberty stormed back, behind three straight three-point buckets, two by Anthony Smith and one by Curry, pushing the Flames ahead by two, 47-45, at 13:58.

Ohman sank the second of a two shot foul at 11:15 to put Liberty up five points, 52-47, while a Curry trey at 7:31 pushed the Liberty advantage to six points, 57-51. Radford twice cut a six point Liberty lead, the second time coming at 4:53 when a Kenny Thomas layup pushed the Highlanders ahead by a point, 63-62.

A Curry jumper at 2:29 gave Liberty a three point lead, 69-66, before Thomas scaled its deficit back to one point, 69-68, with a bucket at 1:06. Brolin Floyd was fouled by McEachin with 34 seconds left in the contest, sending the freshman to the line for two shots. Floyd hit the front end, putting Liberty up by two points, 70-68.

Parakhouski snatched a rebound off a Johnson three-point miss and put it in with 15 seconds left, tying the game at 70-70. After a Floyd turnover, Parakhouski missed a ten foot jumper and Thomas snared the rebound. He tossed three tip attempts at the cylinder with no avail as time expired, sending the game to the first overtime tied at 70 apiece.

Liberty would get on the board early in the first extra period, as Ohman hit both of his attempts from the charity stripe at 4:37, giving the Flames a two point advantage, 72-70.

A Curry jumper at 3:02 extended the Flames' advantage to four points, 76-72, but Radford scored the next five points, retaking the lead, 77-76. Johnson hit a three-pointer and Parakhouski connected on a jumper at 1:10, capping the streak.

Ohman gave Liberty the lead on a layup with 37 seconds left, 78-77. Floyd fouled Thomas with 12 seconds left, sending the senior to the line to shoot two free throws. Floyd fouled out on the play and Thomas missed the front end of the two-point foul, tying the game at 78-78. Curry attempted a jumper as time expired, but it would fall harmlessly into the hands of Thomas, sending the game into the second overtime.

Radford scored seven straight points before Liberty was able to put any markers on the board in the second extra frame. Phillip Martin hit the front end of a two shot foul at 1:27 to finish the 7-0 run, taking the 85-78 lead.

Liberty would get no closer than three points during the final five minute period, 85-82, when Smith hit a three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining. Radford would finish the contest on a 9-0 run, to seal the 12 point triumph, 94-82, and outscore the Flames 16-4 during the final five minutes of action.

The Big South's top ranked field goal shooting team went cold during the two overtime periods, hitting only 21.1 percent (4-of-19) to finish the game by connecting at a 39.2 percent (29-of-74) mark. Liberty was did manage to shoot close to its 35.4 percent season success rate from beyond the arc, hitting on 34.1 percent (14-of-41) of its long range attempts.

Curry led all scorers with 30 points, while pulling down six rebounds. Curry's six treys tied a career best for the freshman, as he previous set the benchmark at Clemson on Dec. 7. Curry also passed Larry Blair for the Liberty record for three-point field goals in a season by a freshman (63). Curry now has 66 on the year. The game also marked the third time this season Curry has tallied at least 30 points, tying a Liberty freshman record. George Sweet set the mark during the first year of the program in 1973.

Smith collected his ninth double-double with 18 markers and 12 caroms, leaving the senior three shy of 500 for his career. Ohman chipped in 18 points and pulled down six rebounds in the losing effort.

Radford shot 47.4 percent (36-of-76) from the floor, including 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from three-point land.

Five of Radford's seven players who saw the floor during the game, reached double figures. Parakhouski led the group with 22 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the double-double. Thomas also collected a double-double with 21 points and 12 caroms. Johnson chipped in 16 points, while Lynch-Flohr and McEachin added 13 points and 10 points respectively.

Liberty returns to action on Tuesday when the High Point Panthers invade the Vines Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Radford will have a week off before traveling to Gardner-Webb next Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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RU Snatches Double Overtime Affair over LU

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Team Stats

Seth Curry

Anthony Smith

Kyle Ohman

Brolin Floyd