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Liberty University
23-7,14-3ASUN
Queens
17-13,7-10ASUN
McGhee Sets ASUN All-Time Scoring Record, Liberty Surges Past Queens For 85-77 Win
2/22/2023 10:50:29 PM | Men's Basketball
Liberty’s Darius McGhee set the ASUN Conference all-time career scoring record, and the Flames surged past the Queen Royals in the second half for an 85-77 win, Thursday evening at Curry Arena.
McGhee scored 35 points in the record-setting effort. Coming into the night, McGhee needed 33 points to pass Centenary’s William Jackson, who had 2,535 career points. McGhee made 4-of-4 free throws in the closing 21 seconds to break the record and finish the night with 2,538 career points.
The standout redshirt senior also became the fourth player in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history to make 500 career three-pointers. McGhee’s 500th career triple came with 18:50 remaining, his second of the evening. The guard finished the night with five threes and had 503 for his career.
Liberty improves to 23-7 on the year and 14-3 in ASUN play with one more regular season contest remaining. Queens drops to 17-13 overall and 7-10 in league play. The two teams will square off at Liberty Arena on Friday night (7 p.m.) in the regular season finale.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Darius McGhee 35 points, 11-24 FG, 5-11 3FG, 8-9 FT, 4 rebounds; Colin Porter 13 points, 6-10 FG, 5 steals, 4 assists; Kyle Rode 12 points; Shiloh Robinson 11 points, 3-3 FG, 4-4 FT, 2 blocks
Queens Individuals: BJ McLaurin 19 points, 7-8 FG, 5 rebounds; AJ McKee 17 points, 5-7 FG, 6-6 FT; Jay’Den Turner 15 points, 12 rebounds; Quan McLuney 10 points, 4-4 FT; Kenny Dye 9 points, 3-15 FG, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 turnovers
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) on the night and 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from three-point land. Liberty shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the second half, converted 17-of-18 free throws (94.4 percent) and scored 53 points over the final 20 minutes. The Flames committed only seven turnovers and forced 12 Royals turnovers, which they converted into 12 points. Queens shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the floor and was 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from three-point territory. Liberty held edges in points in the paint (40-32), bench points (18-12) and fast break points (10-5).
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
“I thought we had a really good response in the second half. We didn’t look like ourselves for a segment of the first half. It was typical of this group that they’ll eventually get it right. Queens had a lot to do with how we looked. They have a good system and really good players. I’m very complementary of Grant (Leonard) and his staff because to do what they’ve done in year one is unique. I feel like we grew a little bit on this road swing.”
Turning Point
Liberty trailed 36-32 at the break but came out strong in the second half with an 18-5 run to take command of the game. Darius McGhee buried his milestone 500th career three at the 18:50 mark to trim it to a one-point lead for the Royals. On the next Queens possession, Colin Porter came up with his fourth steal of the night and scored on a layup for a 37-36 lead for the visitors. Liberty never trailed the rest of the way. At the end of the Flames’ 18-5 run, Isiah Warfield knocked down 5-of-5 free throws over a two-possession span, with his three free throws at the 14:42 mark putting Liberty ahead 50-41.
The Flames’ biggest lead was 12, 62-50, at the 10:37 mark. Queens got within four, 74-70, with 2:45 left, but Liberty answered with a layup from Shiloh Robinson and a three from the corner for McGhee to extend the lead back to nine, 79-70, with 1:31 remaining.
Key Stats & Notes
• Darius McGhee scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half. McGhee was 6-of-8 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point territory and 8-of-9 from the free throw line over the final 20 minutes.
• McGhee, the reigning ASUN Player of the Week, is averaging 35.0 ppg over his last three outings. The redshirt senior guard has four 30-point games on the season and 11 for his career.
• The Flames defense held the ASUN’s second-leading scorer, Kenny Dye (17.8 ppg), to nine points on 3-of-15 shooting.
• Liberty point guard Colin Porter totaled 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and matched a career high with five steals. He also led the squad with four assists.
• Kyle Rode finished with 12 points, his 12th time in the last 13 games scoring in double figures.
• Shiloh Robinson led all bench scorers in the game with 11 points. Robinson was a perfect 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in reaching double digits in scoring for the 10th time this year.
• Isiah Warfield finished the night a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. His five makes were a career best. Warfield was a team-best +14 in his 22:39 of action off the team bench.
• Joseph Venzant grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, his fifth game this season with at least eight boards.
• Thursday night’s matchup marked the first time since Jan. 16, 1984 that the two teams had squared off on the basketball court. Liberty improves to 2-0 in the all-time series.
• Liberty has surpassed last year’s win total (22). The Flames are 127-35 (.784 winning percentage) over the last five seasons.
• The Flames have secured a top-two seed for the upcoming 2023 ASUN Men’s Basketball Championship.
Up Next
The Flames will take on Queens for the second time in three days, Friday evening at Liberty Arena. Tip time is 7 p.m. in what is the ASUN regular season finale for both teams.
Friday is Senior Night for the Liberty men’s basketball program. Prior to the game, the program will honor five players – Shiloh Robinson, Kyle Rode, Blake Preston, Stephen Burggraf and Darius McGhee – with a special ceremony. The team will also recognize its two graduating seniors, Joshua Street and Tyler Czock.
Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 2 Darius McGhee
