Liberty University
6-15, 3-5BSC
Longwood
6-14, 2-5BSC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Longwood | 17 | 36 | 53 |
| Liberty | 26 | 29 | 55 |
Liberty Holds Off Longwood's Late Surge
1/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Liberty men's basketball team led Longwood for over 33 minutes inside the Vines Center, Tuesday night. Despite the Flames leading by nine with 23 ticks left, the Lancers made it a nail biter with an 8-0 run. However, Liberty managed to hang on in the final seconds for the 55-53 decision.
The Lancers late surge occurred thanks to a basket from Shaquille Johnson and back-to-back three-pointers from Tra'vaughn White. Liberty freshman guard Lovell Cabbil broke up the eight-point burst with a free throw, making it a two-point game with six seconds left. White drove toward the basket in the final seconds, but was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer, allowing Liberty to pick up its third conference win of the season.
For the fourth time in five games, redshirt sophomore John Dawson paced the Liberty offense, finishing with 14 points. Cabbil tallied 12 points, followed by Homesley with 10. Dawson also added nine boards and five assists.
White's late treys gave him a game-high 18 points. Forward Lotanna Nwogbo earned a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson closed out the night with 12 points.
Liberty's defense held the Lancers to 33.3 percent shooting (17-of-51). The Flames shot 40.0 percent (18-of-45), including 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from three-point land. The Lancers outscored the Flames in the paint, 20-10.
With the win, Liberty moves 6-15 overall and 3-5 in the Big South. Longwood is now 6-14 on the year and 2-5 in conference play. The Flames improve to 6-1 all-time versus Longwood in the Vines Center.
Three-pointers were the theme during the opening six minutes of the contest, with each team sinking three treys apiece. Trailing by two, Liberty turned the tide with back-to-back three-pointers from Dawson and Ezra Talbert, giving the Flames a 13-9 lead at 14:00.
The Lancers reclaimed the advantage at the 9:14 mark on a Johnson layup. Once again, Liberty received a pair of three-pointers, this time from Ryan Kemrite and Dawson to put Liberty ahead by four, 19-15, with 4:36 left in the half.
Following a Nwogbo layup, the Flames closed the half with a 7-0 run. Another Talbert three-pointer with 23 ticks left allowed Liberty to take a 26-17 lead at halftime.
Longwood's 17 tallies were the fewest points allowed in a half by the Flames, this season. Liberty shot 42.9 percent (9-of-21) in the opening half, while holding Longwood to 22.2 percent (6-of-27). The Flames held the advantage from behind the three-point arc, outscoring the Lancers, 21-9.
Nwogbo led all players at the half with seven points. Three Flames finished the stanza with six points – Dawson, Homesley and Talbert.
In the early minutes of the second half, Homesley wowed the crowd with a one-handed fast break dunk. Cabbil followed up with a layup at 14:14, boosting Liberty's lead to 14 (38-24).
Longwood made it a nine-point game following a Johnson layup with 9:38 remaining. Less than a minute later, Dawson answered with his fourth three-pointer of the game to extend the Flames' advantage to 46-34.
Liberty led by 11 in the final 3:38 before the Lancers cut it to five with 47 seconds left, benefiting greatly at the free throw line. Liberty also capitalized at the charity stripe too, with four straight Cabbil free throws to up the Flames' lead to nine. The late-game drama ensued in the final seconds to set up the 55-53 final.
The Flames return to the Vines Center on Saturday to host High Point, who is currently tied for second in the Big South standings with a 5-2 conference record. Tipoff is slated for noon, with the contest broadcast exclusively on the American Sports Network.
