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Friday, November 10
Charlotte, NC
4:30 PM ET
Liberty University
2-0,0-0CUSA
71
vs
59
Charlotte
1-1,0-0AAC
1
2
F
Liberty
35
36
71
Charlotte
23
36
59
Flames Best 49ers 71-59 in Opening Game of Hall of Fame Series in Charlotte
11/10/2023 9:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Liberty Flames bested the Charlotte 49ers 71-59 in the opening game of the "He Gets Us" Hall of Fame Series at the Spectrum Center.
Liberty redshirt senior forward Kyle Rode led the way with a game-high 23 points, his fifth career 20-point game. Rode scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and was nearly perfect (7-of-8) from the floor in doing so while knocked down all three of his three-pointers in the second stanza. Rode was named the Game 1 Player of the Game for his efforts.
Brody Peebles scored 13 points off the bench, while Joseph Venzant (six points) led the Flames with eight rebounds. All seven Flames who saw significant playing time scored at least five points.
The Flames improve to 2-0 on the young season following the win in the first-ever matchup between Liberty and Charlotte. Charlotte falls to 1-1.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 23 points, 9-15 FG, 5-9 3FG, 3 rebounds; Brody Peebles 13 points, 5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG; Kaden Metheny 9 points; Joseph Venzant 6 points, 8 rebounds
Charlotte Individuals: Igor Milicic Jr. 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6-10 FG; Nick Graves 12 points, 5-8 FG; Daylen Berry 10 points, 4-5 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field and knocked down 10-of-25 three-pointers (40 percent). The Flames have shot 50 or better in both games this season. Charlotte shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the floor and 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from long range. Liberty outrebounded Charlotte 30-27, led by the eight boards from Venzant. The Flames' bench held a 20-14 edge over the 49ers' bench, led by 13 points from Peebles. Peebles scored eight of his 13 points in the opening half.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"That's a really good win for us. Charlotte is going to win a lot of games. I really like our team. They're a connected group. They really don't care about the individual accolades. I think that was reflected in the way they played on both ends of the floor. Defensively, there's an unselfishness that you have to adhere to, and our guys showed a bit of that today."
Turning Point
Liberty led 35-23 at the half and opened the second frame with a 12-4 run in the first 4:02 for a commanding 18-point advantage, 45-27. Charlotte got no closer than within 12 the rest of the way. The 49ers trailed 60-48 with 6:58 left before Kyle Rode's personal 8-0 run, including back-to back threes, put the Flames ahead 68-48 at the 4:00 mark. Rode added one more basket and scored 10 of Liberty's final 11 points.
Key Stats & Notes
Up Next
Liberty will play in the next Myrtle Beach Invitational, next Thursday through Sunday at the HTC on the campus of Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.). The Flames will square off with the Furman Paladins (2-0) in the opening round, Thursday evening at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The winner of the Liberty-Furman game will face the winner of Wichita State and Coastal Carolina. That semifinal game will take place next Friday night at 9 a.m. on ESPNU. The championship game will be held on Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The entire event will take place at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.).
The eight-team field includes: Liberty, Furman, Charleston, Wichita State, Coastal Carolina, Saint Louis, Vermont and Wyoming. All games will be televised across the ESPN platforms.
Liberty redshirt senior forward Kyle Rode led the way with a game-high 23 points, his fifth career 20-point game. Rode scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half and was nearly perfect (7-of-8) from the floor in doing so while knocked down all three of his three-pointers in the second stanza. Rode was named the Game 1 Player of the Game for his efforts.
Brody Peebles scored 13 points off the bench, while Joseph Venzant (six points) led the Flames with eight rebounds. All seven Flames who saw significant playing time scored at least five points.
The Flames improve to 2-0 on the young season following the win in the first-ever matchup between Liberty and Charlotte. Charlotte falls to 1-1.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Kyle Rode 23 points, 9-15 FG, 5-9 3FG, 3 rebounds; Brody Peebles 13 points, 5-8 FG, 2-4 3FG; Kaden Metheny 9 points; Joseph Venzant 6 points, 8 rebounds
Charlotte Individuals: Igor Milicic Jr. 13 points, 10 rebounds, 6-10 FG; Nick Graves 12 points, 5-8 FG; Daylen Berry 10 points, 4-5 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the field and knocked down 10-of-25 three-pointers (40 percent). The Flames have shot 50 or better in both games this season. Charlotte shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the floor and 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from long range. Liberty outrebounded Charlotte 30-27, led by the eight boards from Venzant. The Flames' bench held a 20-14 edge over the 49ers' bench, led by 13 points from Peebles. Peebles scored eight of his 13 points in the opening half.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
"That's a really good win for us. Charlotte is going to win a lot of games. I really like our team. They're a connected group. They really don't care about the individual accolades. I think that was reflected in the way they played on both ends of the floor. Defensively, there's an unselfishness that you have to adhere to, and our guys showed a bit of that today."
Turning Point
Liberty led 35-23 at the half and opened the second frame with a 12-4 run in the first 4:02 for a commanding 18-point advantage, 45-27. Charlotte got no closer than within 12 the rest of the way. The 49ers trailed 60-48 with 6:58 left before Kyle Rode's personal 8-0 run, including back-to back threes, put the Flames ahead 68-48 at the 4:00 mark. Rode added one more basket and scored 10 of Liberty's final 11 points.
Key Stats & Notes
- With his 23 points tonight, Kyle Rode was one point shy of matching his career high (24).
- The Flames led for nearly the duration of the game, holding a lead for 38:06. Charlotte only led for 16 seconds, and the game was tied for 1:38.
- Brody Peebles is leading Liberty offensively through two games, averaging 16.5 ppg. Rode is second on the squad at 16.0 ppg. Peebles has 24 career games in double figures.
- Liberty bolsters its record in Hall of Fame events to 5-2. The Flames bested East Carolina 74-64 in the Hall of Fame Shootout at the Spectrum Center two years ago (Dec. 17, 2021).
- Rode was a game-best +27 tonight. The next best Flame, Colin Porter, was a +15.
- Liberty's has 133 victories since the start of the 2018-19 season, fourth most in the nation during that span.
Up Next
Liberty will play in the next Myrtle Beach Invitational, next Thursday through Sunday at the HTC on the campus of Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.). The Flames will square off with the Furman Paladins (2-0) in the opening round, Thursday evening at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
The winner of the Liberty-Furman game will face the winner of Wichita State and Coastal Carolina. That semifinal game will take place next Friday night at 9 a.m. on ESPNU. The championship game will be held on Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The entire event will take place at the HTC Center on the campus of Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.).
The eight-team field includes: Liberty, Furman, Charleston, Wichita State, Coastal Carolina, Saint Louis, Vermont and Wyoming. All games will be televised across the ESPN platforms.
Team Stats
Lib
CLT
FG%
.527
.481
3FG%
.400
.385
FT%
.429
.800
RB
30
27
TO
9
9
STL
1
4
Game Leaders
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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