Monday, November 2
Rock Hill, S.C.
12:00 AM ET
Liberty University
0-1,0-0CUSA
57
vs
72
High Point
1-0,0-0Big South
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 34 | 23 | 57 |
| High Point | 37 | 35 | 72 |
11/2/2026 3:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Liberty dropped its midnight season opener 72-57 to High Point at the Field of 68 Showcase game held at the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center.
The contest tipped off the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon, featuring eight games in a 24-span (six in Rock Hill, S.C., two in Sioux Falls, S.D.).
The Flames fall to 0-1, while the Panthers improve to 1-0 following the victory. This is the first time the two teams met on the hardwood since 2018.
Liberty sophomore guard Zander Carter led the charge with a game-high and career-high 21 points. Carter matched a career high with six rebounds and added a career-best four steals. Freshman Eli Sancomb scored 10 points in his Flames debut, and Dillon Claussen notched a career-high six blocks in his first game in a Liberty jersey.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zander Carter 21 points (career high), 9-14 FG, 6 rebounds (tied career high), 4 steals (career high); Eli Sancomb 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Eli Herbert 6 points, 3 rebounds; Dillon Claussen 2 points, 3 rebounds, 6 blocks (career high)
High Point Individuals: Curtis Williams Jr. 12 points, 5-9 FG; Trey Pearson 11 points, 5-7 FG; Conrad Martinez 10 points, 6 rebounds, Cam'Ron Fletcher 8 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: After shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half, the Flames shot only 28.8 percent (8-of-28) in the second half to finish the game at 37.5 percent (21-of-56). High Point finished the game at 49.1 percent (28-of-57). Both teams struggled from three-point territory, with Liberty shooting 19.2 percent (5-of-26) and High Point connecting on 30 percent (6-of-20). The Panthers were 10-of-12 from the foul line (83.3 percent), compared to 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) for the Flames. High Point outrebounded Liberty 38-31 and held a 42-32 edge in points in the paint, 37-15 advantage in bench points, 16-8 edge in points off turnovers, 14-6 advantage in second chance points and 13-3 edge in fast break points. Liberty led in assists (11-10), steals (9-6) and blocks (7-6). High Point led for 36:03, while Liberty led for a total of 47 seconds tonight.
Turning Point
Liberty and High Point went back-and-forth in the first half, with the Panthers holding a narrow 37-34 lead after 20 minutes. The Flames' Zander Carter scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the opening half, adding three steals.
High Point led 53-46 at the 11:47 mark of the second half before going on a 14-4 run with Liberty's Carter and Cooper Campbell forced to leave the game. The Panthers' Curtis Williams Jr. capped off the run with a three-pointer at the 6:02 mark to push the High Point lead to 17, 67-50. Liberty managed only 11 points over the final 11-plus minutes and never got closer than 15 in the closing six-plus minutes.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames' next game will be their home opener, Saturday afternoon against Boyce (0-0) Game time is 2 p.m. from Liberty Arena.
The contest tipped off the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon, featuring eight games in a 24-span (six in Rock Hill, S.C., two in Sioux Falls, S.D.).
The Flames fall to 0-1, while the Panthers improve to 1-0 following the victory. This is the first time the two teams met on the hardwood since 2018.
Liberty sophomore guard Zander Carter led the charge with a game-high and career-high 21 points. Carter matched a career high with six rebounds and added a career-best four steals. Freshman Eli Sancomb scored 10 points in his Flames debut, and Dillon Claussen notched a career-high six blocks in his first game in a Liberty jersey.
Box Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Zander Carter 21 points (career high), 9-14 FG, 6 rebounds (tied career high), 4 steals (career high); Eli Sancomb 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Eli Herbert 6 points, 3 rebounds; Dillon Claussen 2 points, 3 rebounds, 6 blocks (career high)
High Point Individuals: Curtis Williams Jr. 12 points, 5-9 FG; Trey Pearson 11 points, 5-7 FG; Conrad Martinez 10 points, 6 rebounds, Cam'Ron Fletcher 8 points, 7 rebounds
Key Team Stats: After shooting 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the first half, the Flames shot only 28.8 percent (8-of-28) in the second half to finish the game at 37.5 percent (21-of-56). High Point finished the game at 49.1 percent (28-of-57). Both teams struggled from three-point territory, with Liberty shooting 19.2 percent (5-of-26) and High Point connecting on 30 percent (6-of-20). The Panthers were 10-of-12 from the foul line (83.3 percent), compared to 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) for the Flames. High Point outrebounded Liberty 38-31 and held a 42-32 edge in points in the paint, 37-15 advantage in bench points, 16-8 edge in points off turnovers, 14-6 advantage in second chance points and 13-3 edge in fast break points. Liberty led in assists (11-10), steals (9-6) and blocks (7-6). High Point led for 36:03, while Liberty led for a total of 47 seconds tonight.
Turning Point
Liberty and High Point went back-and-forth in the first half, with the Panthers holding a narrow 37-34 lead after 20 minutes. The Flames' Zander Carter scored 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the opening half, adding three steals.
High Point led 53-46 at the 11:47 mark of the second half before going on a 14-4 run with Liberty's Carter and Cooper Campbell forced to leave the game. The Panthers' Curtis Williams Jr. capped off the run with a three-pointer at the 6:02 mark to push the High Point lead to 17, 67-50. Liberty managed only 11 points over the final 11-plus minutes and never got closer than 15 in the closing six-plus minutes.
Key Stats & Notes
- Zander Carter's career night saw the sophomore shatter his previous career high in scoring. Carter scored 21 points in 27:57 of action. His previous career-best scoring output was 10 points, set at George Mason in the first round of the 2026 NIT (March 17, 2026).
- All five Liberty starters tonight – Cooper Campbell, Eli Sancomb, Zander Carter, Dillon Claussen and Osmar Garcia-Araujo – made their first starts in Flames uniforms.
- Dillon Claussen's six blocks are a new career high. Claussen tallied four blocks on two occasions while at Washburn. Claussen is the first Flame with six or more blocks in a game since Antwan Burrus had six blocks against Campbell on Feb. 25, 2012.
- Ten of 11 Liberty players who saw action tonight entered the scoring column. Eli Sancomb (10 points), Eli Herbert (six points), Cooper Campbell (five points), Osmar Garcia-Araujo (four points), Claussen (two points) and Matthew Shelton (two points) all scored their first points as Flames.
- Liberty had won five straight season openers prior to the setback. This was the first meeting between the two squads since Feb. 24, 2018, a 65-45 Flames home win. Liberty is 24-18 all-time against High Point in 42 meetings.
- Today's game (Nov. 2) is the earliest Liberty has ever opened a men's basketball season. This was also the first Division I college basketball game of the 2026-27 season in the United States.
- The Flames limited 2026-27 Big South Preseason Player of the Year Cam'Ron Fletcher to eight points on 2-of-4 shooting.
The Flames' next game will be their home opener, Saturday afternoon against Boyce (0-0) Game time is 2 p.m. from Liberty Arena.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
Lib
HP
FG%
.375
.491
3FG%
.192
.300
FT%
.667
.833
RB
31
38
TO
11
13
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
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