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Liberty University
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UNC Asheville
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Flames Continue Unprecedented Run Sunday
1/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Liberty men's basketball team moved to 4-0 in Big South action, overcoming another challenging road test by defeating UNC Asheville, 59-55, Sunday. The win not only kept the Flames unprecedented run intact, but marked the program's first win inside the Justice Center in nearly six years.
Prior to this afternoon's tilt, the last time Liberty has tasted victory inside the facility was Feb. 24, 2005, when Larry Blair helped lead the Flames to a 92-80 win.
Sunday's victory moves Liberty to 10-6 on the season, while UNC Asheville falls to 6-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
The Flames looked to make a statement in the early going, jumping out to a 6-0 lead off baskets from Evan Gordon, John Brown and David Minaya.
After two fouls shots by Chris Stephenson halted the early burst, Antwan Burrus sunk two of his own from the charity stripe for the Flames at the other end, reclaiming Liberty's six-point advantage.
The Bulldogs responded with six unanswered points with buckets from Stephenson and leading scorer J.P. Primm to knot the contest at eight with 10:16 left in the half.
UNC Asheville took the lead at 8:17, as center Eric Stubbs hit a short fall away jumper to give the Bulldogs a 10-8 advantage.
The home team continued to create distance over the next 1:11. Following a made free throw by Primm, Stephenson capped off the 11-0 run with a layup to make it 13-8, at 7:06.
Liberty rallied with a 13-3 run to close out the first half. Chene Phillips benefited the most from the Flames scoring spurt, knocking down a trey and connecting on an acrobatic layup during the span. Liberty's run allowed the visiting Flames to carry a 21-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Phillips' five points made him Liberty's leading scorer at halftime. Stubbs led the way for the Bulldogs in the opening stanza, finishing with five points. Liberty shot 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from the field in the half, while holding UNC Asheville to 18.5 percent shooting (5-of-27).
The charity stripe was unkind to the Bulldogs in the first half, as they managed to go 6-of-13 from the foul line. The three-point arc was even more unfriendly, with the home team missing all eight of its shots from downtown.
Turnovers continued to trouble the Flames in the opening 20 minutes. Despite committing 11 in the period, UNC Asheville only outscored Liberty 6-4 on points off turnovers.
The Bulldogs quickly erased the deficit in the first three minutes of the second half, outpointing the Flames, 8-2, to take a 24-23 lead at 16:59. Jesse Sanders helped regain the lead for the Flames 26 seconds later, capitalizing on a traditional three-point play. UNC Asheville knotted the contest at 26 when Primm found Stephenson alone underneath the basket at 16:25.
After a Sanders layup put Liberty back in the lead at 15:27, Matt Dickey knocked a three-pointer 20 ticks later to put UNC Asheville back on top, 29-28.
The Bulldogs led by as much as five points during the next four-plus minutes. Liberty chipped away at the deficit, knotting it once again with 10:51 remaining thanks to a three-pointer by Gordon. The Indianapolis, Ind., native's basket it tied the contest at 35.
UNC Asheville took back the lead at 8:18 off an old-fashion three-point play by Primm. Liberty cut the advantage to one with a Jesse Sanders jumper and then assumed control again off a John Caleb Sanders three-pointer. The younger Sanders' trey put Liberty up 40-38 with 6:45 remaining.
The Bulldogs knotted the contest on two occasions down the stretch but failed to regain the lead at any point in time. A 5-0 run by the Bulldogs capped by a pair of Matt Dickey free throws at 1:59 proved to be the home team's final charge, pulling UNC Asheville within one, 50-49.
However, the Flames quickly responded on the opposite end of the floor, as Jesse Sanders took a feed from Gordon and sank a three pointer with time winding down on the shot clock, allowing the Flames to close out the 59-55 victory.
For the second straight game, Jesse Sanders and Gordon paved the way for the Flames with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Stephenson finished with 16 tallies for the Bulldogs, followed by Primm with 11.
Liberty shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from the field and held UNC Asheville to 35.3 percent shooting (18-of-51). Although Liberty committed 22 turnovers to UNC Asheville's 16, the Flames capitalized on miscues, outscoring the Bulldogs on points off turnovers, 19-15.
The Bulldogs head to Rock Hill, S.C., where they will square off with the Winthrop Eagles, Thursday. Game time inside the Winthrop Coliseum is set for 7 p.m.
The Flames return to the Vines Center this Thursday to host Charleston Southern. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
