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Liberty University
26-7,15-3ASUN
Eastern Kentucky
20-13,12-6ASUN
Liberty Overcomes Early Deficit, Tops EKU 79-73 to Earn Spot in ASUN Title Game
3/2/2023 11:00:29 PM | Men's Basketball
Head Coach Ritchie McKay Press Conference
Darius McGhee, Colin Porter & Zach Cleveland Press Conference
No. 2 seed Liberty overcame an early 13-point deficit, coming back to top No. 3 seed Eastern Kentucky 79-73 to earn a spot in Sunday’s ASUN Championship title game.
The Flames improve to 26-7 on the year and will play in their fifth conference championship game in six seasons. Liberty will appear in its fourth ASUN title game in five years, and the Flames improve to 4-1 in ASUN Championship semifinal contests. The Flames will face No. 1 seed Kennesaw State (25-8) in Sunday’s championship game. Tip time is 3 p.m. from the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga. and can be seen on ESPN2.
Meanwhile, EKU falls to 20-13. The Flames took two of the three matchups from the Colonels this year, winning both at Liberty Arena.
Liberty freshman point guard Colin Porter enjoyed a career tonight, pouring in a career-high 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 5-of-9 shooting from three-point territory. Porter added five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the win. Darius McGhee led all scorers, totaling 29 points for the second time in three nights.
A new Liberty Arena record 4,043 fans were in attendance at tonight’s game. Liberty is 18-1 on its home court this season and has won 16 straight home contests.
Thoughts From Head Coach Ritchie McKay
“I’m incredibly impressed with Eastern Kentucky and A.W. (Hamilton) and his staff and their players. That’s a really, really good team and a really good program. To be able to advance, we earned it because they kept punching and kept coming. I was really pleased with our guys’ response. I say it all the time, but I think the crowd is worth five to seven points on a nightly basis when it’s like. That was a tremendous atmosphere, and Flames Nation should celebrate the assist they had in the win. That was a great college basketball atmosphere and a really good game.”
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Darius McGhee 29 points, 8-9 FT, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Colin Porter 25 points, 10-16 FG, 5-9 3FG, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Kyle Rode 9 points, 3-4 3FG
Eastern Kentucky Individuals: Devontae Blanton 23 points, 9-20 FG, 9 rebounds; Tayshawn Comer 14 points, 6-10 FG, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; Cooper Robb 10 points, 4-8 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field. The Flames knocked down 50 percent (15-of-30) of their shots in the second half and turned the ball over only five times on the night, tied for the fewest in a game this season. The Flames knocked down 14-of-32 three-pointers (43.8 percent), led by five apiece from Colin Porter and Darius McGhee. Meanwhile, EKU shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) for the game, only the third time this year that the Flames have allowed an opponent to shoot over 50 percent. Tonight was the first time this year that Liberty won a game in which an opponent shot 50 percent or better, and the Flames improve to 3-4 in games in which they were outshot. The Colonels committed eight turnovers, which Liberty scored 14 points on. Liberty outrebounded EKU 35-33 and held the Colonels to six offensive rebounds.
Turning Point
Eastern Kentucky got off to a strong start to the game, building up a 13-point lead, 26-13, with 7:34 remaining in the opening half. Liberty began chipping away at the deficit, cutting it to eight (31-23) with 2:39 remaining. The Flames then went on an 8-0 run in the next 57 seconds, capped off by Kyle Rode rattling a three home, to even the score at 31-31 with 1:42 left. Liberty took a brief lead with 11 seconds to go in the frame, 34-33, after a Darius McGhee three. Michael Moreno sent the visitors into the locker room with a 36-34 edge by knocking down a three with two seconds remaining.
An 11-3 run late in the second half for the Flames broke a 58-all tie and put the hosts up 70-61 with 3:37 left, but the Colonels did not go quietly. EKU got within three, 72-69, with 1:33 left following a Devontae Blanton (team-high 23 points) three-pointer. Following a Liberty turnover, EKU had an opportunity to potentially tie the game, but the Liberty defense got a stop. On the next possession down, Kyle Rode drilled a three to stretch the advantage back to six, 75-69, with 32 ticks remaining. McGhee converted on 4-of-4 free throws in the closing seconds to preserve the win.
Key Stats & Notes
• The Flames improve to 12-1 all-time in ASUN Tournament play.
• Liberty is heading back to the ASUN Championship final for the fourth time in five seasons in the league. This will be the first time the Flames will face KSU in the title game. Liberty faced Lipscomb in 2019 and 2020 and North Alabama in 2021.
• Liberty is one of only eight schools in the nation this season with 26 or more victories.
• Colin Porter’s career high entering the night was 16 points against Central Arkansas on Jan. 14. In addition to his career high in points tonight, he also notched career highs in field goals made (10) and three-point field goals made (5).
• Porter is the first Flames freshman since Caleb Homesley to score 20 or more points in a game. Homesley scored 20 points against Gardner-Webb over seven years ago on Feb. 27, 2016.
• Darius McGhee’s game-high 29 points gives him 2,611 career points.
• Kyle Rode scored nine points, converting on 3-of-4 from long distance. Rode is one point shy of 1,000 for his career with 999.
• Joseph Venzant led the Flames in rebounding with seven boards, his 14th game this season with six or more boards.
• Liberty improves to 5-3 all-time against EKU and 3-1 against the Colonels since they joined the ASUN prior to the 2021-22 season.
• Liberty improves to 12-7 all-time as a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament play. The Flames are now 10-7 all-time in conference tournament semifinal games. Liberty is 35-25 all-time in conference tournament play.
• Thursday night’s comeback by the Flames was reminiscent of their comeback at UNC Asheville exactly five years ago today (March 2, 2018) in the 2018 Big South Championship semifinals. Liberty faced a 15-point deficit, 41-26, with 18:07 left before rallying to win 69-64 and punch a ticket to the Big South title game.
Up Next
The No. 2 seed Liberty Flames (26-7) will face the No. 1 seed Kennesaw State Owls (25-8) in Sunday ASUN Men’s Basketball Championship title game. The game will be on ESPN2, with tip time slated for 3 p.m. from the KSU Convocation Center. Liberty will be looking for its fourth ASUN crown in five seasons.
KSU edged Liberty 88-81 in the only regular season meeting, Feb. 16 on its home court.
Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 0 Colin Porter
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