Caleb Homesley had 13 of his 17 points in the second half, Myo Baxter-Bell scored 15, and Liberty used a 15-0 second-half run to pull away for a 70-61 win over Grand Canyon on Sunday night in the Jerry Colangelo Classic at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Elijah Cuffee had 15 points as Liberty stretched its season-opening win streak to 10 games, rolling past Trinity Baptist 87-28 on Monday night.
Scottie James had 15 points and seven rebounds as Liberty stretched its season-opening win streak to nine games, rolling past Kentucky Christian 88-42 on Friday.
Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz posted 14 points as Liberty extended its season-opening winning streak to eight games, topping Kansas City 62-49 in the championship game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on Sunday night.
Kyle Rode and Myo Baxter-Bell scored 14 points each, Scottie James had a double-double and Liberty won its seventh straight game to open the season -- its best start in program history -- beating Rice 71-59 in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on...
Freshman Kyle Rode came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points and Liberty dispatched Morgan State 89-48 in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on Friday.
Freshman Kyle Rode came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points and Liberty dispatched Morgan State 89-48 in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on Friday.
Myo Baxter-Bell knocked down four free throws and blocked a shot in the final minute to allow Liberty to hold off Navy, 55-48 on Tuesday night.
Caleb Homesley had 25 points as Liberty routed East Carolina 77-57 on Saturday to remain unbeaten.
Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz had 12 points as Liberty romped past South Carolina State 65-39 on Tuesday night.
Scottie James had 22 points and 16 rebounds as Liberty got past Maryland Eastern Shore 66-55 on Sunday.
Caleb Homesley scored 18 points and Kyle Rode scored 12 and Liberty defeated Radford 66-60 on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Virginia Tech advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 52 years by beating 12th-seeded Liberty 67-58 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.
Caleb Homesley, the star of Liberty's first-round upset with 30 points, has been much quieter this evening against Virginia Tech. He's 2-of-9 from the field, including five straight misses in the last five minutes. He finally made 1 of 2 free throws with 3:26 left to score his first points of the second half. With him in an offensive funk, the Flames have had so much more difficulty trying to score against the stifling defense of the Hokies. Liberty is shooting 38.1 percent for the game so far.
Virginia Tech guard Ahmed Hill, who's been having a running dialogue with virtually everyone most of the second half, just hit a 3 to give Virginia Tech its largest lead of the game and turned toward the media table and said ... we think ... "All Day!"
Liberty got 12 points off the bench — all on 3s — from 5-foot-9 freshman guard Darius McGhee, who's only scored in double figures twice since January, and the Flames mostly controlled the first half against Virginia Tech en route to a 3-point halftime lead. But the Hokies shot only 36 percent and seem like they're going to lean on senior guard Justin Robinson more than expected tonight. It's likely Virginia Tech finds a little more offensive rhythm in the second half.
The refs had to swoop in after Virginia Tech point guard Justin Robinson was fouled hard on his drive to the basket by Liberty's Darius McGhee. Robinson said something to McGhee as he walked away and several of Liberty's players got up off the bench. This game is getting a tad more physical, minute by minute.
Liberty forward Scottie James, the team's leading scorer at 12.9 points a game, continues to spend a lot of time on the bench in favor of reserve forward Myo Baxter-Bell. James was taken out before the first timeout, and really hasn't made much impact in the Flames' tournament run so far. He had only 6 points and 6 rebounds in 23 minutes in Liberty's first-round upset of Mississippi State. Yesterday, Flames coach Ritchie McKay said he expected James to bounce back. "I don't equate his impact on our game on his statistics," McKay said. "He didn't have a usual Scottie James night but I have every bit of confidence that that could change the next time we put the uniform on." But so far, it's been more of what we saw Friday.
Today's second-round game between Virginia Tech and Liberty is a rematch of sorts, one five months in the making following their Hurricane Relief Exhibition on November 4 at Liberty. The Hokies won that exhibition 86-70, with point guard Justin Robinson leading all scorers with 20 points. Robinson could play a big role in today's game in San Jose too, if he's fully recovered from a left foot injury that kept him out of 12 games before his return Friday. Robinson, the school's all-time assist leader, scored 9 points and 2 assists in 28 minutes in Virginia Tech's first-round romp over Saint Louis. "I think he's a pro," Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said yesterday. "He's one of the best guards that we've faced all year. So I expect him to have a major impact on the game."
We started with 68 on Tuesday night. Now we're down to 32. Here's how we rank them heading into Saturday.
Caleb Homesley scored 22 of his 30 points in the second half and Lovell Cabbil hit a go-ahead 3-pointer to send 12th-seeded Liberty to the first NCAA tournament win in school history, 80-76 over fifth-seeded Mississippi State on Friday.
Homesley has been slowed by injuries, but his career-high 30 points Friday led the 12-seed Flames past Mississippi State.
Just like that, Liberty runs off 10 straight points to take its first lead over Mississippi State since the 12:05 mark of the second half. And Caleb Homesley's go-ahead 3 just made him the 1st Atlantic Sun Conference player with 30 points in an NCAA Tournament game over the last 20 seasons.
We're halfway through the second half and Mississippi State already has committed nine team fouls. Seems like the kind of thing that might eventually become important against Liberty, which ranks 12th in the country in free-throw percentage.
After briefly losing its early lead, Mississippi State closed the first half on a 6-0 run to go into the break leading 37-35 over Liberty. The Bulldogs' backcourt of Lamar Peters and Quinndary Weatherspoon combined for 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting. But after starting off a little tight, Liberty also found its offensive groove and is shooting 50 percent in the first half. It's been, thus far, the best-played matchup of the first three games here in San Jose today.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 0-0 | - | 11-0 |
| North Florida | 0-0 | - | 6-5 |
| North Alabama | 0-0 | - | 5-5 |
| Jacksonville | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |
| Stetson | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |
| Lipscomb | 0-0 | - | 4-6 |
| NJIT | 0-0 | - | 2-7 |
| Florida Gulf Coast | 0-0 | - | 2-10 |
| Kennesaw State | 0-0 | - | 0-8 |
| Final Fours | 0 |
| Tournament Record | 0-3 |
| Championship Seasons | None |
| Tournament Appearances | 3 |
