Thursday, January 7
Clinton, S.C.
7:00 PM
Liberty University
8-8, 3-1BSC
77
at
67
Presbyterian
2-15, 0-5BSC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 41 | 36 | 77 |
| Presbyterian College | 32 | 35 | 67 |
Flames Hold Off Blue Hose, 77-67
1/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Coming off a comeback victory over VMI last Saturday, the Liberty men's basketball team (8-8, 3-1 BSC) continued conference play on the road Thursday night, facing off with Presbyterian. Up by as much as 15 points in the contest, the Flames received high scoring marks from Kyle Ohman and Evan Gordon to leave the Templeton Center with a 77-67 win.
Liberty took an early 2-0 lead thanks to an Ohman jumper in the first 34 seconds of the contest. The Blue Hose responded at 19:11 when Travis Smith knocked down a trey to give Presbyterian the advantage, 3-2.
Liberty netted six-straight points, courtesy of three-pointers from Jesse Sanders and Gordon to make it, 8-3, at 17:31.
After trading baskets over the next 2:08, Gordon nailed another shot from downtown, increasing the Flames' edge to six, 15-9, with 15:23 remaining in the period.
The Flames achieved their largest lead of the half at 13:02, as Ohman hit a layup, giving Liberty a 22-11 advantage.
The Blue Hose proceeded to trim the bulge over the next 3:39, going on a 10-0 run, to cut the visitor's advantage to one, 22-21, with 9:23 left on the clock in the opening half.
Both squads went scoreless over the next 2:23, until Ohman halted the scoring drought with an old-fashion three-point play to extend Liberty's lead to 25-21 with 7:00 remaining. Gordon then added five-straight points to cap off the 8-0 run, giving the visiting team a 30-21 edge at 5:43.
Presbyterian climbed within three at 3:49, when Chase Holmes hit a layup, making it 31-28. The Flames pulled away again in the remaining minutes of the period, leaving the court at halftime with a 41-32 lead.
Ohman led all scorers at intermission with 18 points, followed by Presbyterian's Khalid Mutakabbir, who finished with 12 tallies. Gordon, who hit three-of-six from behind the arc in the period, chipped in 11 points for the Flames.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the opening period. Liberty hit 15-of-26 (57.7 percent), while Presbyterian sunk 14-of-26 shots (56.0 percent).
Antwan Burrus jumpstarted the Flames' offense to start the second half, scoring four unanswered points, upping Liberty's advantage to 45-32 59 seconds into period. Smith then knocked down a trey for the Blue Hose moments later, cutting the Flames' lead back to 10.
Liberty maintained its double-digit lead over the next 1:15 and extended it to 15 when Gordon nailed a three-pointer, making it 52-37 at 17:16
The Blue Hose began chipping away at Liberty's lead with under 14 minutes remaining, going on a 7-0 burst to pull within eight, 58-50 at 12:07.
After each team swapped baskets, Liberty increased its edge to 11 with a Chris Perez three-pointer, putting the visitor up, 63-52, at 10:42.
Liberty went up by 15 again with 6:01 remaining thanks to a layup from Jeremy Anderson, making it 69-54.
Following a bucket from Chase Holmes to cut Liberty's bulge to 13, Burrus cemented a double-double with a layup with 3:20 left on the clock, helping the Flames regain their 15-point edge, 71-56.
After the Burrus basket, Presbyterian looked poised for a late game rally, netting eight unanswered points to trim the Liberty lead to seven, 71-64, with 1:43 remaining.
Despite the effort by the Blue Hose, Liberty held off Presbyterian, taking the contest 77-67. The Flames' victory allows head coach Dale Layer's team to even its overall record to 8-8 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Blue Hose fall to 2-15 on the season and 0-5 in the Big South.
Ohman tied his season high with 23 points, while Gordon matched his first half total of 11 points to conclude the contest with 22. The freshman guard went 6-of-10 from the field and was perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all six of his free throw attempts. Burrus finished with an even 10 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Presbyterian also ended the contest with three players in double figures – Holmes (19), Smith (18) and Mutakabbir (12).
Liberty hit 27-of-49 shots from the field (55.1 percent), while Presbyterian hit 29-of-52 (55.8 percent). The difference came at the free throw line, with the Flames outscoring the Blue Hose 14-3.
The Flames remain in the Palmetto State this weekend, squaring off with Winthrop on Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C. Tipoff in the Winthrop Coliseum is slated for 4 p.m.
The Blue Hose continue conference play on Saturday with the second of a three-game homestand, hosting VMI on Saturday inside the Templeton Center at 7 p.m.
Liberty took an early 2-0 lead thanks to an Ohman jumper in the first 34 seconds of the contest. The Blue Hose responded at 19:11 when Travis Smith knocked down a trey to give Presbyterian the advantage, 3-2.
Liberty netted six-straight points, courtesy of three-pointers from Jesse Sanders and Gordon to make it, 8-3, at 17:31.
After trading baskets over the next 2:08, Gordon nailed another shot from downtown, increasing the Flames' edge to six, 15-9, with 15:23 remaining in the period.
The Flames achieved their largest lead of the half at 13:02, as Ohman hit a layup, giving Liberty a 22-11 advantage.
The Blue Hose proceeded to trim the bulge over the next 3:39, going on a 10-0 run, to cut the visitor's advantage to one, 22-21, with 9:23 left on the clock in the opening half.
Both squads went scoreless over the next 2:23, until Ohman halted the scoring drought with an old-fashion three-point play to extend Liberty's lead to 25-21 with 7:00 remaining. Gordon then added five-straight points to cap off the 8-0 run, giving the visiting team a 30-21 edge at 5:43.
Presbyterian climbed within three at 3:49, when Chase Holmes hit a layup, making it 31-28. The Flames pulled away again in the remaining minutes of the period, leaving the court at halftime with a 41-32 lead.
Ohman led all scorers at intermission with 18 points, followed by Presbyterian's Khalid Mutakabbir, who finished with 12 tallies. Gordon, who hit three-of-six from behind the arc in the period, chipped in 11 points for the Flames.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in the opening period. Liberty hit 15-of-26 (57.7 percent), while Presbyterian sunk 14-of-26 shots (56.0 percent).
Antwan Burrus jumpstarted the Flames' offense to start the second half, scoring four unanswered points, upping Liberty's advantage to 45-32 59 seconds into period. Smith then knocked down a trey for the Blue Hose moments later, cutting the Flames' lead back to 10.
Liberty maintained its double-digit lead over the next 1:15 and extended it to 15 when Gordon nailed a three-pointer, making it 52-37 at 17:16
The Blue Hose began chipping away at Liberty's lead with under 14 minutes remaining, going on a 7-0 burst to pull within eight, 58-50 at 12:07.
After each team swapped baskets, Liberty increased its edge to 11 with a Chris Perez three-pointer, putting the visitor up, 63-52, at 10:42.
Liberty went up by 15 again with 6:01 remaining thanks to a layup from Jeremy Anderson, making it 69-54.
Following a bucket from Chase Holmes to cut Liberty's bulge to 13, Burrus cemented a double-double with a layup with 3:20 left on the clock, helping the Flames regain their 15-point edge, 71-56.
After the Burrus basket, Presbyterian looked poised for a late game rally, netting eight unanswered points to trim the Liberty lead to seven, 71-64, with 1:43 remaining.
Despite the effort by the Blue Hose, Liberty held off Presbyterian, taking the contest 77-67. The Flames' victory allows head coach Dale Layer's team to even its overall record to 8-8 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. The Blue Hose fall to 2-15 on the season and 0-5 in the Big South.
Ohman tied his season high with 23 points, while Gordon matched his first half total of 11 points to conclude the contest with 22. The freshman guard went 6-of-10 from the field and was perfect from the charity stripe, hitting all six of his free throw attempts. Burrus finished with an even 10 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Presbyterian also ended the contest with three players in double figures – Holmes (19), Smith (18) and Mutakabbir (12).
Liberty hit 27-of-49 shots from the field (55.1 percent), while Presbyterian hit 29-of-52 (55.8 percent). The difference came at the free throw line, with the Flames outscoring the Blue Hose 14-3.
The Flames remain in the Palmetto State this weekend, squaring off with Winthrop on Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C. Tipoff in the Winthrop Coliseum is slated for 4 p.m.
The Blue Hose continue conference play on Saturday with the second of a three-game homestand, hosting VMI on Saturday inside the Templeton Center at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
LIBERTY
PC
FG%
.551
.558
3FG%
.450
.429
FT%
.824
.333
RB
31
21
TO
13
9
STL
2
3
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
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