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Liberty University
20-6,11-2ASUN
Bellarmine
11-15,6-7ASUN
Liberty Bests Bellarmine 70-50, Secures Seventh Straight 20-Win Season
2/9/2023 10:20:59 PM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Ritchie McKay Press Conference
Darius McGhee & Kyle Rode Press Conference
Liberty bested Bellarmine 70-50 on Thursday evening at Liberty Arena, securing its seventh straight 20-win season in the process.
Liberty improves to 20-6 on the year and are 11-2 in ASUN play. Meanwhile, Bellarmine slips to 11-15 overall and 6-7 in conference. The Flames sweep the regular season series with the Knights. Liberty topped Bellarmine by a 70-53 score in its league opener, Dec. 29.
Prior to tonight’s contest, Darius McGhee was honored for becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer (2,384 points entering night) and was joined on the Liberty Arena floor by Liberty Athletics Hall of Famer and the program’s No. 2 all-time leading scorer, Karl Hess. Hess scored 2,373 points in his decorated career from 1977-80 and held the scoring record for 43 years. McGhee led all scorers with 21 points and matched a season high with seven assists.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Darius McGhee 21 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds; Kyle Rode 15 points, 5-10 FG, 4 rebounds; Brody Peebles 12 points, 6-6 FT; Zach Cleveland 6 points, 5 rebounds
Bellarmine Individuals: Alec Pfriem 10 points, 4-4 FT, 3 rebounds; Garrett Tipton 10 points; Ben Johnson 9 points, 5-6 FT
Key Team Stats: Liberty shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from the field and knocked down 83.3 percent of its free throw attempts. The Flames only missed one two-pointer the whole game, shooting 94.4 percent (17-of-18) from that range. Liberty’s Brody Peebles (6-of-6) and Darius McGhee (4-of-4) led the way from the charity stripe. Both teams grabbed 27 rebounds, with seven Flames collecting multiple rebounds. Liberty’s impressive defense held Bellarmine to 38.3 shooting (18-of-47) for the game and forced 13 turnovers that were converted into 17 points.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
“I thought it was a great defensive response to what I think is a really challenging team to guard. They cut with such a fervor, and they’re tremendously well-coached and well-disciplined. I felt like our guys matched that effort and execution.”
Turning Point
Shortly after being honored pregame for becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer, Darius McGhee scored the first points of the game on a step back three-pointer at the 19:25 mark. Liberty never trailed in the game, building up a 22-6 advantage in the game’s first 9:21. The Flames’ defense forced eight Knights turnovers in that span, including five offensive fouls. Liberty scored 16 points off turnovers in the opening half and held Bellarmine to 16 points in the first half in taking a 37-16 lead into intermission.
The Flames shot 53.6 percent (15-of-28) in the opening half, with McGhee scoring 12 of his 21 points in the first 20 minutes. Peebles had eight points in the opening half, and Kyle Rode added seven.
Key Stats & Notes
• Liberty has now won 20 or more games in seven straight years. Here are the Flames’ win totals during that time: 20 (2022-23), 22 (2021-22), 23 (2020-21), 30 (2019-20), 29 (2018-19), 22 (2017-18) and 21 (2016-17).
• McGhee’s 21-point effort was his 51st career 20-plus point game. The redshirt senior guard is up to 2,405 career points. He matched a season high with seven assists, a mark he also reached at home against Jacksonville State on Jan. 5.
• Rode finished the evening with 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting. He has scored in double figures in nine straight games, the longest streak of his career, and is averaging 12.9 ppg during that span.
• Peebles (12 points) scored in double figures for the 14th time this year and 21st time in his career. The sophomore guard knocked down 6-of-6 shots from the line and is shooting 90.6 percent (29-of-32) from the foul line this season.
• Freshman Zach Cleveland totaled six points and matched a game high with five rebounds in only 10:20 of action, his eighth game this season with five or more boards.
• This is Liberty’s first win over Bellarmine at Liberty Arena. The Knights edged the Flames 53-50 in last year’s ASUN Men’s Basketball Championship semifinal round at Liberty Arena in what was the only prior meeting between the two squads at the facility.
• The Flames bolster their all-time record to 4-1 against the Knights.
• All 11 of Liberty’s ASUN victories have been by 11 or more points. In those triumphs, the Flames are winning by an average of 20.1 points (74.1 ppg-54.0 ppg). The Flames are shooting 49 percent from the field in those wins and forcing 13 turnovers per game from their opposition.
• The Flames are 14-1 at Liberty Arena this season.
Up Next
Liberty will welcome Eastern Kentucky (17-9, 10-3 ASUN) to town on Saturday evening. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Liberty Arena.
The Colonels edged the Flames 62-59 in the first meeting between the two squads, Jan. 8 in Richmond, Ky.
Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 2 Darius McGhee
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