.png&width=100&height=100&type=webp)
Liberty University
16-8, 10-2
Coastal Carolina
21-2, 12-0
Coastal Carolina Holds off Liberty, 77-71
2/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Looking for a share of the conference lead on Thursday, the Liberty men's basketball team stepped into Kimbel Arena to take on Big South leader, Coastal Carolina. Much like the last meeting in the Vines Center on Jan. 8, the Flames capitalized off missed free throws by the Chanticleers in the final 90 seconds. Unfortunately the rally was not enough, as the Chanticleers hung on to extend their win streak to 19 games by defeating the visiting Flames, 77-71.
Coastal Carolina improves to 21-2 on the season and 12-0 in conference play. Liberty falls to 16-8 overall and 10-2 in the Big South.
Coastal Carolina lit up the scoreboard first in the contest with layups from Desmond Holloway and Chad Gray. David Minaya responded on the other end for the Flames, sinking a three-pointer to cut it to one, 4-3, at 18:37.
Holloway tacked on four unanswered points for the Chanticleers to put the home team up by five. Gordon made it a one-possession game at the foul line, sinking two free throws. After a Sam McLaurin layup, Jesse Sanders added another tally from the charity stripe. Minaya then knocked down a jumper at 15:18 to put Liberty within two, 10-8.
Coastal Carolina received another four-point burst, consisting of baskets from Anthony Raffa and Holloway. Minaya answered with a bucket at the other end, but Gray put Coastal Carolina back up by six with a jumper. The Flames then cut it to two with layups by Joel Vander Pol and Minaya to make it 16-14 at 12:19.
The Flames kept it between one and two possessions over the next 6:58, until Raffa nailed a trey to put the Chanticleers up by seven, 27-20, at 5:21.
Coastal Carolina took its largest lead of the first half, when Greenwood connected on a layup to put the Chanticleers up by nine, 31-22, at 3:07. Liberty chipped away at the bulge at the foul line in the closing minutes of the period, resulting in a halftime score of 34-28 in favor Coastal Carolina.
Minaya led all scorers at the half with 13 points. Holloway ruled the roost for the Chanticleers with 10 tallies. The Flames shot 45.0 percent from the field in the first half, sinking 9-of-20 attempts. Coastal Carolina finished the opening period at 42.9 percent shooting (15-of-35).
The Chanticleers forced 11 turnovers in the first half, while committing only four of their own. Coastal Carolina outscored the Flames on points off turnovers, 10-1.
In the second half, Liberty made it a five-point game thanks to a Minaya free throw. After a Gray layup, Sanders cut it back to six with another charity stripe tally. Danny Nieman then expanded the Chanticleers' margin with back-to-back layups to make it a 10-point game at 16:02, 42-32.
With Coastal Carolina still up by 10, Gordon cut it to seven with a trey at 15:24. The sophomore followed up his bucket with another nearly a minute later to cut the deficit to five, with 14:27 left. Following a jumper by Holloway, Gordon nullified the bucket with a fast break layup at the other end, making it 46-41 with 13:39 remaining in the period.
Coastal Carolina began to distance itself over the ensuing 5:51, outscoring the Flames 12-3 to take a 58-44 advantage with 7:48 remaining. The Chanticleers took their largest lead of the contest (19) at 4:14, thanks to a Holloway free throw to make it 66-47.
In the final minutes, the Chanticleers missed 12 free throws, allowing the Flames to climb back in the contest. Minaya cut the deficit to 12, 66-54, hitting a trey with 3:12 remaining. Gordon allowed Liberty to cut it to single digits, at 67-58, with two made free throws at the 1:29 mark.
The Flames continued to chip away at the bulge, making it a four-point game with six ticks on the clock thanks to a Minaya free throw. However, time was not on the Flames' side, as the Chanticleers held off a relentless Liberty attack for the 77-71 final.
With 20 second-half points, Gordon tied his career-high of 26, followed by Minaya who finished with 20. Sanders added 10 tallies and Brown proved strong on the glass, posting 11 boards to accompany six points. Five Chanticleers concluded the contest in double figures – Raffa (19), Holloway (16), Gray (12), Nieman (12) and Greenwood (10).
Coastal Carolina shot 45.3 percent from the field (29-of-64), while the Flames ended the night on 23-of-54 shooting (42.6 percent). The Chanticleers picked up nearly two-thirds of their points inside, outscoring the Flames in the paint, 50-26.
Coastal Carolina remains at Kimbel Arena on Saturday, playing host to VMI. Game is set for 4:30 p.m.
Liberty heads to Charleston, S.C., to take on Charleston Southern. Tipoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
