Saturday, February 6
Lynchburg, Va.
7:00 PM
Liberty University
12-12, 7-5
60
vs
57
Presbyterian
4-21, 2-11
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presbyterian College | 26 | 31 | 57 |
| Liberty | 32 | 28 | 60 |
Burrus Helps Flames Defend Home Court, 60-57
2/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Coming off a tough loss at home to Winthrop this past Thursday, the Liberty men's basketball team looked to rebound against Presbyterian on Saturday. Led by Antwan Burrus, who finished with a near double-double, the Flames managed to fend off the visitor, edging the Blue Hose, 60-57.
Both teams went scoreless in the opening 1:47, until Jesse Sanders found Burrus alone underneath the basket for a two-handed jam for the early 2-0 lead. The Flames capped off a 5-0 start 1:51, as Jeremy Anderson knocked down a trey. The Blue Hose lit up the scoreboard on the following possession off a Jay Reynolds jumper in the paint to trim it to three at 15:51, 5-2.
The Flames regained a five-point edge at 15:03, when Burrus tipped it in to make it 7-2. Presbyterian then responded with four unanswered tallies courtesy of baskets from Jake Troyli and Chase Holmes, cutting the deficit to one, 7-6.
Liberty matched Presbyterian's scoring burst over the next 1:18, posting four-straight points with buckets from Sanders and Burrus to reclaim a five-point advantage at 13:03, 11-6.
Following a basket by Troyli to cut it three, 11-8, Patrick Konan hit his first three-pointer of the season to give Liberty a six-point cushion at 10:10, 14-8.
The scoring roller coaster continued in the latter portion of the first half, as Presbyterian cut it to one, 18-17, with 6:47 remaining in the period, when Holmes threw down a one-handed dunk on a fast break. The Blue Hose evened the score 2:37 later, as Kevin Davis hit a trey to tie it at 22.
Liberty responded over the next 2:57, going on a 10-2 run to take a 32-24 lead with 1:14 remaining in the half. Gordon highlighted the Flames' run, knocking down two shots from downtown.
Troyli netted on last shot for the Blue Hose with 46 ticks left, making it 32-26 at halftime.
Konan led all scorers at halftime with nine points, followed by Gordon and Troyli, who each had eight.
Each team posted similar numbers from the field in the opening period. Presbyterian shot 52.2 percent, hitting 12-of-23 shots, while the Flames finished with 52.0 percent (13-of-25).
The Flames dominated the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Blue Hose, 19-4. Burrus singlehandedly grabbed more boards than the visiting team in the opening period, finishing out the half with five.
The back-and-forth trend carried over into the second half, as the Blue Hose cut it to a pair in the opening 1:17 courtesy of a Troyli trey.
After an old-fashion three-point play by Sanders increased the Flames margin to five, 37-32, Troyli scored five unanswered points for the Blue Hose to knot the contest at 37 with 16:33 remaining.
Liberty gained a slight edge at the charity 27 seconds thanks to two foul shots from Burrus. However, Holmes made sure the advantage was short-lived, hitting a jumper to knot the contest for the third time, 39-39.
Carter McMasters made it a two possession game at 13:50, netting a rare three-pointer to put the Flames up 45-41. The Blue Hose prevented the Flames form pulling away over the next 5:21, tying the contest, 49-49, at 8:21 off a trey from Holmes. Presbyterian took the lead for the first time in the matchup at 7:19, as Troyli hit a jumper to make it 51-49.
The Blue Hose maintained a two-point cushion with 6:20 remaining, but the Flames answered with a 6-0 run over the next 2:49, receiving buckets from Gordon, Sanders and Bill Weaver to take a 57-53 lead.
Presbyterian got within a pair down the stretch, but was able to regain the lead in the closing minutes. A three-point shot with two seconds remaining would have sent the game into overtime, but rimmed out, allowing Liberty to walk away with a 60-57 victory.
The win helps Liberty improve to 12-12 on the season and 7-5 in conference play, while Presbyterian falls to 4-21 overall and 2-11 in the Big South.
Troyli finished with a game-high 20 points. Burrus led the way in points and rebounds for the Flames, posting 18 tallies and nine boards.
Liberty maintained its large rebound margin in the second half, outrebounding the Blue Hose in the contest, 35-14.
The Flames head to Asheville, N.C., next week, squaring off with UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs enter the contest 10-14 on the season and 7-6 in conference play after falling to Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon, 98-62. Tipoff for Thursday's matchup inside the Justice Center is set for 7 p.m.
The Blue Hose remain on the road next Saturday to take on Winthrop at 7 p.m.
Both teams went scoreless in the opening 1:47, until Jesse Sanders found Burrus alone underneath the basket for a two-handed jam for the early 2-0 lead. The Flames capped off a 5-0 start 1:51, as Jeremy Anderson knocked down a trey. The Blue Hose lit up the scoreboard on the following possession off a Jay Reynolds jumper in the paint to trim it to three at 15:51, 5-2.
The Flames regained a five-point edge at 15:03, when Burrus tipped it in to make it 7-2. Presbyterian then responded with four unanswered tallies courtesy of baskets from Jake Troyli and Chase Holmes, cutting the deficit to one, 7-6.
Liberty matched Presbyterian's scoring burst over the next 1:18, posting four-straight points with buckets from Sanders and Burrus to reclaim a five-point advantage at 13:03, 11-6.
Following a basket by Troyli to cut it three, 11-8, Patrick Konan hit his first three-pointer of the season to give Liberty a six-point cushion at 10:10, 14-8.
The scoring roller coaster continued in the latter portion of the first half, as Presbyterian cut it to one, 18-17, with 6:47 remaining in the period, when Holmes threw down a one-handed dunk on a fast break. The Blue Hose evened the score 2:37 later, as Kevin Davis hit a trey to tie it at 22.
Liberty responded over the next 2:57, going on a 10-2 run to take a 32-24 lead with 1:14 remaining in the half. Gordon highlighted the Flames' run, knocking down two shots from downtown.
Troyli netted on last shot for the Blue Hose with 46 ticks left, making it 32-26 at halftime.
Konan led all scorers at halftime with nine points, followed by Gordon and Troyli, who each had eight.
Each team posted similar numbers from the field in the opening period. Presbyterian shot 52.2 percent, hitting 12-of-23 shots, while the Flames finished with 52.0 percent (13-of-25).
The Flames dominated the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Blue Hose, 19-4. Burrus singlehandedly grabbed more boards than the visiting team in the opening period, finishing out the half with five.
The back-and-forth trend carried over into the second half, as the Blue Hose cut it to a pair in the opening 1:17 courtesy of a Troyli trey.
After an old-fashion three-point play by Sanders increased the Flames margin to five, 37-32, Troyli scored five unanswered points for the Blue Hose to knot the contest at 37 with 16:33 remaining.
Liberty gained a slight edge at the charity 27 seconds thanks to two foul shots from Burrus. However, Holmes made sure the advantage was short-lived, hitting a jumper to knot the contest for the third time, 39-39.
Carter McMasters made it a two possession game at 13:50, netting a rare three-pointer to put the Flames up 45-41. The Blue Hose prevented the Flames form pulling away over the next 5:21, tying the contest, 49-49, at 8:21 off a trey from Holmes. Presbyterian took the lead for the first time in the matchup at 7:19, as Troyli hit a jumper to make it 51-49.
The Blue Hose maintained a two-point cushion with 6:20 remaining, but the Flames answered with a 6-0 run over the next 2:49, receiving buckets from Gordon, Sanders and Bill Weaver to take a 57-53 lead.
Presbyterian got within a pair down the stretch, but was able to regain the lead in the closing minutes. A three-point shot with two seconds remaining would have sent the game into overtime, but rimmed out, allowing Liberty to walk away with a 60-57 victory.
The win helps Liberty improve to 12-12 on the season and 7-5 in conference play, while Presbyterian falls to 4-21 overall and 2-11 in the Big South.
Troyli finished with a game-high 20 points. Burrus led the way in points and rebounds for the Flames, posting 18 tallies and nine boards.
Liberty maintained its large rebound margin in the second half, outrebounding the Blue Hose in the contest, 35-14.
The Flames head to Asheville, N.C., next week, squaring off with UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs enter the contest 10-14 on the season and 7-6 in conference play after falling to Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon, 98-62. Tipoff for Thursday's matchup inside the Justice Center is set for 7 p.m.
The Blue Hose remain on the road next Saturday to take on Winthrop at 7 p.m.
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
PC
LIBERTY
FG%
.533
.477
3FG%
.389
.400
FT%
.400
.800
RB
14
35
TO
11
16
STL
5
3
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Liberty Basketball: The Best of the "Big 3"
Friday, April 03
Taelon Peter: From Liberty to the NBA
Tuesday, March 31
Coach McKay Talks About The Nevada Game
Monday, March 23
Coach McKay, Brett Decker Jr. & Josh Smith Talk About The Win Over George Mason
Wednesday, March 18