MBB Game Day Central: Central Penn
11/19/2015 12:00:00 AM
Game Day Central
Liberty Game Notes
The Game
The Liberty men's basketball team closes out a four-game home stand on Saturday when it plays host to Central Penn, Saturday. The matchup marks the second consecutive year the two squads have faced off inside the Vines Center, with Liberty earning the 94-65 victory, last season (Dec. 19, 2014). This time, the Knights enter the contest with a 7-1 record while averaging 100.4 ppg. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m., with the contest streaming live on the Big South Network and Liberty Flames Sports Network.
Matchup Notes
- Saturday's game is the opening contest for the Flames in the American Sports Network Challenge in Music City. Liberty will host the Knights before heading to Nashville, Tenn., to take on Appalachian State (Nov. 26), Western Michigan (Nov. 27) and Tulane (Nov. 29) inside the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
- Tyree Tucker is the only player on Central Penn's current roster to play against the Flames. Last season. Tucker finished the contest with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. He enters Saturday's game as the team's third leading scorer, averaging 15.4 ppg.
- Liberty's A.C. Reid, Ryan Kemrite and Evan Maxwell all saw action in the game against the Knights last season. Reid recorded 11 points and three assists in 17 minutes. Ryan Kemrite played 10 minutes, to finishing with three points and Maxwell had five points in seven minutes. Expect the trio to have a much greater impact, as they are three of the Flames top four leading scorers heading into Saturday's matchup.
Look Back at Tuesday vs. William & Mary
- Despite Liberty (2-1) leading by three at halftime, the Tribe (2-0) used a 14-4 burst in the second period to pull away for the 70-59 win.
- Redshirt senior guard Anthony Fields led Liberty on the night with 13 points, while four other Flames finished in double scoring figures – A.C. Reid (12), Evan Maxwell (12), Ryan Kemrite (10) and Lovell Cabbil (10). Maxwell also grabbed eight rebounds.
- Liberty's turnovers were minimal, finishing with seven compared to 12 for the Tribe. The Flames' miscues marked its lowest number since finishing with seven in a 92-53 victory against Southeastern on Dec. 28, 2013.
Notes and Anecdotes
- Liberty is beginning the season with four straight home games for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. That year, the Flames started the season with five consecutive contests inside the Vines Center, defeating Virginia-Wise, Tusculum. James Madison and Towson before dropping a 74-54 decision to Albany on Dec. 4, 2000. The Flames longest home streak to begin a season occurred during the 1982-83 campaign, when Liberty played eight straight games in the Schilling Center. That year, the Flames finished the season with a 23-9 record.
- Central Penn has one other Big South member on its schedule this season. The Knights square off with Radford inside the Dedmon Center on Dec. 27.
Last Time vs. Central Penn – Dec. 19, 2014
- Forward James Johnson guided the Flames with a career-high 20 points in their 94-65 victory over Central Penn. Johnson went 9-of-10 from the field, helping contribute to Liberty's season-high 61.3 shooting percentage. The big man also made 2-of-4 free throws to round out his scoring total.
- Along with Johnson, Big South Freshman of the Week Peter Moller finished with 14 tallies, while David Andoh (11), A.C. Reid (11) and Andrew Smith (10) also had double-digit scoring figures.
- Liberty concluded the night with a season-high point total in the paint, 58-36. The Flames also capitalized beyond the three-point arc (21-9), off turnovers (26-19) and from the bench (44-22).
