MBB Game Day Central: Winthrop
1/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Central
Liberty Game Notes
The Game
Coming off a narrow loss to Charleston Southern on Thursday, the Liberty men's basketball team remains on the road, Saturday, squaring off with Winthrop inside the Winthrop Coliseum. Liberty will look to get back on the winning track in a place where it has not tasted victory in nearly 12 years. Meanwhile, the Eagles, who are riding high after an 86-66 victory over first place High Point, hope to improve on their current eight-game win streak over the Flames. Tipoff is slated for 4 p.m., with the contest streaming live on the Big South Network.
Matchup Notes
- Caleb Homesley continues to show improvement as the Flames go deeper into conference play. The freshman guard knocked down a career-high four three-pointers en route to a 17-point performance at Charleston Southern. Homesley went 6-of-8 from the field on Thursday night, 4-of-5 from long distance and 1-of-1 at the foul line.
- John Dawson had another solid performance, finishing with 16 points inside the Buc Dome. The redshirt sophomore is averaging 15.3 ppg in the last four contests and has posted double-digit scoring figures in all but one of his eight contests with the Flames.
- Evan Maxwell, who is averaging 11.8 ppg this season, will look to provide more of a scoring presence for the Flames, as he is averaging 4.3 ppg in the last four games.
Notes and Anecdotes
- Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey's coaching career includes an eight-year stint as an assistant at Wake Forest under the late Skip Prosser and then Dino Gaudio. Redshirt senior guard Anthony Fields is also familiar with Wake Forest, having played his freshman season there under Jeff Bzdelik (2011-12). Fields appeared in 24 contests as a member of the Demon Deacons.
- Winthrop has won the last 12 meetings against the Flames inside the Winthrop Coliseum. Liberty's last win in the facility was a 74-62 decision on Feb. 18, 2004. That year, Liberty went on to finish the season with an 18-15 record (12-4 Big South) and capture the 2004 Big South Championship.
- In the previous meeting between the two squads, Ryan Kemrite was the only returning Flame to light up the scoring column, finishing with five points. A.C. Reid finished with zero points in 19 minutes, while Evan Maxwell played just one minute.
- Conversely, the Eagles had seven 2015-16 returners who squared off with the Flames in last year's meeting at Winthrop Coliseum. Keon Johnson and Xavier Cooks highlighted the group, finishing with 12 and 10 points respectively. Cooks also pulled down seven boards in the 74-61 Winthrop victory (Feb. 4, 2015).
- Both teams will look to shoot the three-ball on Saturday. The Flames are coming off their second best three-point field goal total with 13 against Charleston Southern on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Eagles recorded 10 three-pointers against the Panthers. Winthrop is allowing just under eight treys a game, which is right around Liberty's average. The Flames are holding teams to less than seven three-pointers each game, with the Eagles averaging more than eight.
