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Liberty University
16-8, 7-5BSC
Gardner-Webb
11-11, 7-5BSC
Ohmans Career Night Spoiled by Gardner-Webb
2/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Reigning Big South Player of the Week Kyle Ohman poured in a career-high 38 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and hit 16-of-18 from the free throw line, but 24 team turnovers led to the Liberty Flames' (16-8, 7-5 BSC) double-overtime setback, 95-90, to the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs (11-11, 7-5 BSC), Wednesday night, inside Paul Porter Arena.
For the first time in program history, Liberty has played five overtime games in a season, including a program-high four double-overtime tilts.
Ohman put three quick points on the board to start the game for the Flames. Ohman was fouled 12 seconds into the game by Joshua Henley, sending the junior to the line to shoot three free throws. Ohman hit all three, staking the Flames to an early 3-0 advantage.
Ohman hit a trey at 17:42, giving Liberty a 6-3 advantage, countering a three-point bucket by Jonathan Moore. Jesse Sanders then scored on a layup at 9:54, giving the Flames a four-point lead, 15-11, but that would be the last field goal Liberty would score for nearly four and a half minutes.
The Bulldogs rolled off 16 straight points, storming out to a 12-point lead, 27-15. Aaron Linn capped the streak with a bucket at 5:37. An old-fashioned three-point play by Moore at 4:39 pushed the Bulldogs' advantage up to 13 points, 30-17.
The Flames then surged, cutting their deficit to four points, 30-26, after scoring nine straight points. Seth Curry capped the run with two free throws at 1:29. During the run, the nation's leading freshman scorer tossed in five points, including an old-fashioned three-point play.
Gardner-Webb pushed its lead back up to seven points, 33-26, when Moore hit a three with 55.5 seconds left, However Liberty would not be outdone, as Anthony Smith nailed a three-point bucket of his own with 31.2 seconds remaining. Smith's bucket cut the differential back to four points, 33-29.
With the shot clock off, Gardner-Webb set the stage for the half's final shot. Hitting his first field goal of the game, Nate Blank's three-pointer swished through the net with 3.4 seconds left before the intermission, sending the Bulldogs into the break with a seven-point advantage, 36-29.
Liberty hit only 40.0 percent (10-of-25) of its shots in the opening stanza, including just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from beyond the arc.
Gardner-Webb fared better from the floor, hitting at a 42.9 percent (15-of-35) clip, including 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from three-point land.
Brolin Floyd tallied a transition bucket at 14:11, cutting Liberty's deficit to three points, 43-40, capping an 11-4 run. From that point, Liberty and Gardner-Webb went back and forth for much of the second half. Ohman hit a three-pointer at 10:26 to bring the Flames back to another three-point deficit, 52-49.
After being down seven points, 61-54, Liberty scorched the floor to take a two-point lead, 67-65, via a 13-4 run. Ohman nailed four straight free throws to finish off the surge, with 3:34 left to play in regulation.
Back-to-back free throws by Moore at 2:07 knotted the contest at 67-67. Ohman answered with a three-pointer at 1:35, retaking the lead for the visiting Flames, 70-67. Auryn MacMillan tallied two points with 1:20 left to play, cutting the Gardner-Webb deficit to one point, 70-69.
Curry was fouled by Linn with 1:02 left to play in regulation, sending the freshman to the line to shoot two. Curry nailed both attempts, giving the Flames another three-point lead, 72-69.
Takayo Siddle nailed a trey with 10 seconds left, tying the game at 72-72. Liberty was unable to attempt a game-winning shot, sending the two teams into an extra session.
In the first overtime, Liberty never trailed. The Flames held a four-point advantage after four straight free throws were tallied, two by Curry and another two by Ohman, giving the Flames an 80-76 advantage with 11 seconds to play.
Then Siddle took over again for the Bulldogs, going the length of the court to lay the ball in with six seconds left, cutting Liberty's lead to two points, 80-78. Ohman turned the ball over into the waiting hands of Siddle, who tossed a prayer up as time expired. Falling backwards, from the elbow, Siddle's attempt fell through the cylinder, sending the game into the Flames' fourth double overtime contest of the season with the score tied, 80-80.
Back-to-back buckets by Henley and Siddle quickly gave the Bulldogs an early four-point edge in the second overtime, 84-80. Siddle's bucket capped the spurt at the 3:21 mark. A Curry jumper at 1:17 cut the Bulldogs' lead to one point, 87-86.
Siddle was fouled by Jesse Sanders with 46 left, sending the Bulldogs to the line for two free throws. Siddle hit both of them, pushing the Gardner-Webb lead back to three points, 89-86.
Ohman drew a foul from C.J. Hailey with 32 seconds left, sending the junior to the line to shoot three free throws. Ohman nailed the first two, bringing Liberty within in one point, 89-88. Ohman's third attempt rimmed out, falling into the waiting hands of Henley.
Blank was fouled on the play, but since a trainer came onto the court to view his injured eye, a substitute had to come in to shoot the double-bonus foul in Blank's place. Dillon Boggs sank the first attempt, pushing the Bulldogs' lead to two points, 90-88. Boggs' second attempt bounced out and was grabbed by Ohman. However, Ohman came down on the baseline after bumping into Floyd, forcing a Flames turnover.
Gardner-Webb closed the game out at the free throw line, sinking 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, sealing the double-overtime triumph.
Liberty finished the contest shooting 41.7 percent (25-of-60) from the floor, including 30.8 percent (8-of-26) from beyond the arc. For the third straight game, the Flames won the rebound war, 50-33. Gardner-Webb scored 31 points off of Liberty's 24 miscues, the highest of the season. Liberty was clutch from the charity stripe all evening, missing only three attempts, hitting at a 91.4 percent (32-of-35) clip.
Ohman's career-high 38 points tied Larry Blair for the program's third-highest point total ever against a Big South Conference foe. Blair hit his mark against High Point on Jan. 3, 2006. Ohman connected on 8-of-17 from the floor, 6-of-12 from three-point land and 16-of-18 from the charity stripe. Not to be overlooked were Ohman's team-high 10 caroms, completing the first double-double of his career.
Curry added 21 points, going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line, while pulling down seven rebounds. Sanders chipped in 11 points, seven assists and seven rebounds in a losing effort.
Gardner-Webb connected on 46.8 percent (36-of-77) from the floor, including 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from three-point land. The Bulldogs dished out 22 assists on their 36 field goals and shot 17 fewer free throws than Liberty, 35-18.
Five Bulldogs registered double figures in scoring, led by Siddle's 18 markers, all of which came after the intermission. Linn added 17 points, while Moore scored two points after the break, finishing with 16. Blank and Hailey added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the victorious host squad.
Liberty returns to action on Saturday, when the Winthrop Eagles invade the Vines Center. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m., and the contest will be televised on the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN).
