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Liberty University
14-5,5-1ASUN
Central Arkansas
6-13,1-5ASUN
McGhee and Porter Combine For 48 Points in Liberty’s 82-62 Triumph Over UCA
1/14/2023 10:15:02 PM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Ritchie McKay Press Conference
Darius McGhee and Colin Porter Press Conference
Liberty’s starting backcourt of Darius McGhee and Colin Porter combined for 48 points in the Flames’ 82-62 triumph over the Central Arkansas Bears, Saturday evening at Liberty Arena.
The Flames improve to 14-5 on the year and 5-1 in ASUN play. Liberty is in a four-way tie atop the conference standings with Eastern Kentucky (12-7, 5-1), Stetson (10-7, 5-1) and Kennesaw State (13-6, 5-1). Central Arkansas slips to 6-13 and 1-5 in league play.
McGhee’s 32-point night was the ninth game of his career with 30 or more points. The redshirt senior knocked down five more three-pointers tonight, moving him into a tie for fourth place in NCAA history for career threes. McGhee has 457 career triples and is now tied for Duke's JJ Redick for fourth. Meanwhile, Porter scored a career-high 16 points in the victory. Kyle Rode added 11 points, while big man Blake Preston added 10 points.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Darius McGhee 32 points, 11-24 FG, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Colin Porter 16 points, 4-7 3FG, 4 assists; Kyle Rode 11 points, 5 assists; Blake Preston 10 points, 4-5 FG, 5 rebounds; Shiloh Robinson 8 points, 4-4 FG, 2 steals
Central Arkansas Individuals: Camren Hunter 14 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals; Johannes Kirisipuu 14 points; VJ Reeves 11 points
Key Team Stats: Liberty forced 15 Central Arkansas turnovers, leading to 20 points. The Flames turned it over eight times (only two in second half) for seven Bears points. The Flames shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the floor and knocked down 13 three pointers on the night. UCA was 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) from the field. Liberty improves to 13-2 when outshooting its opponents. UCA held a slight rebounding edge, 37-35. Flames sophomore guard led the way with a game-high seven rebounds.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
“Our crowd had a great deal to do with us playing some inspired basketball. I thought Liberty Arena was tremendous tonight. I think we’re developing a little bit of a home court advantage. I was a little worried about Central Arkansas coming in just because of the freedom that they’re playing with. They have some really good pieces and are doing a really terrific job.”
Turning Point
Liberty turned a seven-point (30-23) late in the first half into a 14-point lead at the break, 43-29. The Flames scored seven of the first 11 points of the second half to go ahead 50-33 with 17:21 remaining.
UCA trimmed the Flames’ lead to 53-40 with 16:21 to go, but Darius McGhee’s personal 8-0 run put Liberty ahead by 21, 61-40.
Key Stats & Notes
• McGhee entered the night in sixth place on the NCAA’s all-time career three-pointers listing. He passed Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon, who made 455 threes at Iowa from 2017-22. The Roxboro, N.C. native is currently tied with Duke great J.J. Redick, who hit 457 triples at Duke from 2003-06.
• Porter’s previous career high before tonight’s 16-point effort was 14 points, which he achieved against Virginia University of Lynchburg on Dec. 6. The freshman point guard from Ashland, Ky. scored 11 of his 16 points in the first half and matched a season high with four threes in the contest.
• Liberty, who entered the game ranked ninth nationally in assists per game (18.2), had 18 assists tonight on 29 made baskets.
• McGhee’s 32-point game was his second-highest scoring effort of the year, behind only his season-high 36 points against Grambling on Dec. 19.
• The Flames bolster their record to 2-0 all-time versus the Bears.
• Liberty improves to 11-1 at home during the 2022-23 campaign. The Flames are averaging 82.0 points per game at home while surrendering only 54.1 points per contest.
• Liberty’s five ASUN wins this season have been by a combined 118 points.
• Tonight’s attendance of 3,648 was the fourth largest crowd in Liberty Arena history.
Up Next
Liberty will hit the road for two ASUN games next week, starting with a game at Jacksonville (10-7, 3-3 ASUN), Thursday. Tip time is 7 p.m. at Swisher Gymnasium and can be seen on ESPN+.
The Flames are 8-1 all-time versus the Dolphins. Liberty and JU split a pair of games last year, with each team winning at its home gym. The Flames downed the Dolphins 88-49 at Liberty Arena. JU topped Liberty 73-69 at Swisher Gymnasium.
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