After getting swept in the regular season by a hot-shooting Campbell team, Liberty answered the bell in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament with an impressive 73-59 win. With the win, Coach McKay’s team advances to the semifinals to face #1 seed and host UNC Asheville on Friday night at 8pm.
The Flames led for the final 37 minutes of game action as they imposed their will on the Camels. The Flames led by as many as 13 points in the first half and went into the locker room with a 10 point lead. The lead remained in double figures much of the 2nd half as it swelled to as many as 16 points
After shooting 63% from 3 in two games against Liberty in the regular season, Campbell was held to 8-of-24 from Thursday night. Chris Clemons, the 4th leading scorer in the nation, finished with 23 points. While he got his points, Liberty made him work for it, holding him to 7-of-22 shooting from the field. He never really got into a rhythm.
Liberty used a balanced scoring attack and dominated the paint, outscoring the Camels 31-15 in bench points and 38-22 in points in the paint. 5 Flames scored in double figures led by Myo Baxter-Bell and Scottie James who had 14 points a piece. Myo was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field while he did all of his damage in just 14 minutes. Scottie nearly had a double-double, finishing with 9 rebounds.
Caleb Homesley had 12 points and 8 rebounds and knocked down a couple of huge 3-pointers in the 2nd half as Campbell attempted to cut into the Flames’ lead.
Returning to the starting lineup after missing the regular season finale against High Point, Lovell Cabbil had 13 points and 7 rebounds. Ryan Kemrite rounded out the double figure scorers with 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep.
Liberty will look to move to 3-0 on the season at Kimmel Arena in Asheville Friday night. The Bulldogs knocked off #8 seed Charleston Southern, 71-66. The two teams split the season series as Liberty knocked off UNCA in overtime just two weeks ago. The Flames are the only team to beat Asheville on their home court this season, as the Bulldogs are 14-1 at home.
Asheville and Liberty will be meeting for the 10th time in the Big South Tournament with the Bulldogs owning a 6-3 advantage. The teams last met in 2016, when 4-seed UNCA crushed 5-seed Liberty, 80-49. This will be the 3rd time the teams have met in the semifinals, doing so previously in 1996 and 1998. The Flames and Bulldogs are 1-1 against each other in the semis.
With a win, Liberty will clinch its 7th 20 win season in school history and first back-to-back 20 win seasons in school history. One more win will also set the school record for most wins in consecutive seasons with 41, as this year’s squad is currently tied with the record of 40 done so in 1996 and 1997.
