.png&width=100&height=100&type=webp)
Liberty University
19-9, 13-3BSC
VMI
15-11, 8-8BSC
Sharpshooting Puts VMI Over Flames
2/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Looking for its fifth straight win at Cameron Hall, the Liberty men's basketball team squared off against the nation's No. 1 scoring offense in the country in VMI, Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Flames, the Keydets showed why they also lead the country in three-pointers made per game, knocking down 14 treys, including eight by Austin Kenon to take the contest, 79-69.
With Coastal Carolina suffering a 59-57 loss to Gardner-Webb in the same night, Liberty is now guaranteed to finish as the No. 2 seed in the Big South standings. The defeat to the Keydets drops Liberty to 19-9 overall and 13-3 in conference play. VMI improves to 15-11 on the season and 8-8 in the Big South.
Rodney Glasgow put the Keydets on the board first with a jumper, but Evan Gordon answered at the other end with a trey to give the Flames the lead. After the three-point basket, the Keydets posted four unanswered points to take a three-point advantage.
John Brown connected on a layup to cut the deficit to one and Gordon followed up with a second three-pointer to put the Flames back on top, 8-6, at 17:17.
Glasgow countered Gordon's trey with one of his own to regain the edge for the Keydets. The Flames then reeled off five straight points thanks to a jumper by Brown and a Jesse Sanders three-pointer to make it 13-9, Flames at 15:14.
D.J. Convington cut the Liberty lead to a pair with a jumper, but Brown expanded the cushion to five with a traditional three-point play. Following a dunk by Convington, the Flames produced a 5-0 burst off a Jeremy Anderson three-pointer and a fast break dunk by Brown. The redshirt junior's two-handed jam gave Liberty a 21-13 lead at 8:37.
Liberty prevented the Keydets from climbing closer than five points over the next 5:10. Kenon broke through the barrier, slicing Liberty's advantage to two with a three-point play at 3:27. Kenon gave VMI the lead 1:40 later, knocking down a three-pointer to make it 32-31 in favor of the Keydets.
The home team prevented the Flames from regaining the advantage during the remainder of the period, resulting in a halftime score of 34-33 in favor of the Keydets.
John Brown paced the Flames with a near double-double in the opening 20 minutes, posting 13 points and seven rebounds. Kenon concluded the half as the leading scorer with 16 tallies.
Liberty shot 38.9 percent from the field in the first half, hitting 14-of-36 attempts. VMI knocked down 14-of-31 shots (45.2 percent) in the period. The two squads matched each other in the paint with 18 points apiece. The Flames outscored the Keydets from beyond the three-point arc in the stanza, 12-9.
VMI came out firing after the intermission, netting five straight points off a Glasgow three-pointer and a layup by Okoye. Joel Vander Pol halted the spurt with a free throw and followed with a layup to reduce the deficit to three. VMI then answered with a 7-0 run off buckets by Convington and Kenon and free throws from Keith Gabriel to create a 10-point margin, 46-36.
Brown broke up the hot streak with a layup, but Gabriel pushed the Keydet lead to 11 with a three-pointer. A free throw by Antwan Burrus and an Anderson trey put Liberty within seven points at the 11:08 mark. With under 10 minutes to play, the Keydets found themselves back up by 12, 57-45, thanks to a Kenon trey.
Liberty chipped away at the Keydet lead, scoring seven straight points. Kenon prevented the Flames from shrinking the margin further, jacking up back-to-back three-pointers to once again give VMI an 11-point advantage, 63-52.
Sanders helped Liberty climb within seven, knocking down a three-pointer just under the five-minute mark. However, Kenon once again widened the gap for VMI, sinking two more three-pointers in back-to-back fashion to put the Keydets up by 13. Gordon responded with a three-pointer of his own, but VMI answered with five points off an Okoye trey and a Covington dunk to take a 15-point lead, 77-62, with 1:43 remaining. Liberty got no closer than the final margin of 10 points the rest of the way.
Kenon finished the contest with a career-high 39 points, hitting 13-of-23 shots from the field, including 8-of-16 from downtown. Brown led the Flames with 22 points and 16 rebounds, one point and one board shy of tying Liberty career highs in both categories. Three other Flames finished in double scoring figures – Sanders (13), Gordon (11) and Burrus (10).
VMI shot 43.9 percent (29-of-66) from the field, and 38.9 percent from three-point range (14-of-36). Liberty finished the night on 37.9 percent shooting (25-of-66). The Keydets made 11 second-half three-pointers compared to three for the Flames.
With both squads participating in this year's Sears ESPNU BracketBusters, VMI heads to Morgan State on Saturday to take on the Bears in a non-conference clash. Tipoff inside Hill Field House is set for 4 p.m.
Liberty returns to the Vines Center on Saturday to host MAAC member Iona. The contest tips off at 3 p.m. and will air live on ESPNU.
