Liberty University
3-7
Furman
5-3
Furman Uses Big Bursts to Overcome Flames
12/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Liberty men's basketball team looked to end a five-game skid on Tuesday night, squaring off with Furman inside Timmons Arena. Unfortunately for the Flames, the Paladins utilized big runs in the latter half of the first period and the start of the second to pick-up a 79-56 win.
With the defeat, Liberty falls to 3-7 on the year, while Furman improves to 5-3. The Paladins now lead the all-time series, 4-1.
Entering the contest fourth in the country in field goal percentage (71.6), Evan Maxwell led the Flames with 12 points, finishing with double-digit scoring figures for the fourth straight contest. A.C. Reid had nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from long distance.
Furman's leading scorer Stephen Croone paced the Paladins with 17 points, followed by Devin Sibley (15) and Kris Acox (13).
Furman proved efficient in all areas, finishing the contest with 60.0 percent shooting (27-of-45) from the field. Liberty shot 46.3 percent (19-of-41) on the night. The Paladins capitalized inside the paint, 38-22, and used Liberty's 21 miscues to outscore the Flames off turnovers, 22-5.
The Flames started the contest 4-of-4 from the field, outscoring the Paladins, 11-4, in the early going. With the Flames ahead by one after a Reid trey and a Lovell Cabbil jumper, freshman guard Ryan Hiepler tacked on another three-pointer to extend Liberty's lead. Cabbil cemented a 6-0 burst with a trifecta at 17:13 to give the Flames the seven-point lead.
Liberty led by as much as nine in the opening period after an Ezra Talbert three-pointer made it 16-7 at 11:29. The Paladins began to gradually chip away at the Flames' advantage in the ensuing minutes. With Liberty leading by five after a Reid three-pointer, Furman proceeded to go on a 15-2 run, highlighted by eight points from Sibley. Following a Kendrec Ferrara jumper, Reid found Maxwell inside for an authoritative one-handed jam with 65 ticks left to halt the Flames six-minute scoring drought from the field. Croone countered with a layup on the other end and Hansel Atencia capped the period with a jumper, making it 33-27 in favor of the Paladins.
Sibley closed the half perfect from the field (2-for-2) and the charity stripe (9-for-9) to lead all scorers with 15 points. Reid paced the Flames with six tallies.
Despite beginning the game hitting four of its first five three-pointers, the Flames went 5-of-13 from downtown (38.5 percent) in the period. Furman shot 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from the field, while holding Liberty to 39.1 percent (9-of-23).
Furman came out the locker room firing on all cylinders, going on a 12-0 run capped by a Daniel Fowler trey at 16:17 to take a 17-point lead. Ryan Kemrite ended the hot streak with a layup. Ferrara responded with a three-pointer, but Kemrite countered with a trey of his own. Fields added two free throws to put Liberty within 13 at 14:26, 50-37.
The Paladins continued to find success from long distance, with John Davis knocking down a pair of treys over the next 4:42. Davis' second three-pointer at 9:44 closed out a 10-3 burst to stretch the Paladins lead to 60-40.
Furman led by as much as 26 in the contest. Maxwell closed out the game with a dunk and a free throw, completing the traditional three-point play to set up the 79-56 final.
Liberty returns to the Vines Center on Saturday, playing host to Lamar for its first-ever meeting against the Cardinals. The matchup is part of a doubleheader, with the Lady Flames squaring off with the Seton Hall at 5 p.m. Tipoff for the men's contest is slated for 2 p.m., with the game broadcasting live on the Liberty Flames Sports Network, MASN, ESPN3 and the Big South Network.
