The Liberty Flames’ men’s basketball team officially opened it’s brand new Liberty Arena with a win over St Francis (PA), 78-62. With the win, Liberty improves to 3-2 on the season.

“I knew going in this was going to be difficult,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “Having played four high majors when you play a team that is maybe not as well known or well recognized, who is tremendously well coached, I thought it would be hard for us.”

The Red Flash’s Mark Flagg scored the first ever points in a men’s basketball game at Liberty Arena, while freshman Micaiah Abii scored the first points for a Liberty Flame. Abii got a bucket plus the foul, making the free throw, to get the Flames on the board early. Abii would have to check out early with a personal foul. Chris Parker continued his strong play with 2 points, 2 assists, and 1 rebound in the opening minute. Five different Flames scored in the opening minutes as Liberty held a 12-10 advantage at the first media timeout.

“It’s a fabulous arena,” McKay said of the new digs. “We’ve waited to play in it. We finally get to play in front of our fans. It’s our home court, I thought there would be a little bit of nerves and anxiousness. I think once we settled down we were a little bit more patient, and I think that’s what led to better shot attempts.”

The balanced scoring attack for Liberty continued as Keegan McDowell and Shiloh Robinson got into the scoring column. McDowell got two buckets off the bounce during his stint on the floor, something the redshirt-junior didn’t show very often in his first two seasons on the floor with the Flames. The Red Flash made 3 of 5 early three point attempts to keep the game tied at 18 at the under 12 media.

McDowell would knock down his third pull up off the dribble at the 10:31 mark, but the Flames would then go more than 3 minutes without any points as St Francis grabbed a 22-20 lead at the 7:27 mark of the first half. Both of Liberty’s big men, Abii and Blake Preston picked up a foul early, so McKay went to unorthodox small lineups on occasion before both big men checked in together.

Liberty opened the game just 1 of 12 from three point range before McDowell found the range with about 4 minutes left in the first half. Keegan made 4 of his first 5 field goal attempts as he led the team in scoring with 9 first half points as Liberty led, 29-27 at the under 4 minute media timeout.

Parker had 4 minutes in the closing minutes of the first half and McDowell hit another triple. That combo combined for 20 first half points, and Drake Dobbs buried a half court shot as time expired in the opening half to give Liberty a 39-32 lead at the break.

“Drake Dobbs’ halfcourt shot, it actually allowed us to take a little bit of a breather,” said McKay. “I thought we looked much more like our selves in the second half.”

The Flames made 3 of 4 field goals to begin the second half, including 2 of 3 from three point range to push the lead to double figures for the first time at 48-36. The Red Flash would hang around over the next few minutes, keeping the game within striking distance at, 55 46 Liberty with 11:44 to play. McDowell and Parker continued to lead the Flames with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

After struggling in the first half from behind the arc, Liberty made 5 of its first 9 triples in the second half as the lead grew to 15 at 66-51 at the under 8 media timeout. Shiloh Robinson would score 4 of the team’s next 6 points as Liberty maintained a 72-56 lead with 3:48 left.

McKay was able to clear the bench in the final minutes as the Flames coasted to the victory. Keegan McDowell set a career high with 5 made three pointers and 21 points as he made 8 of 11 field goals and 5 of 7 from behind the arc. Chris Parker also reached double figures with 13 points to go along with 6 assists and 2 rebounds. Elijah Cuffee chipped in 8 points and 6 rebounds.

The Flames are back in action as the two-game home stand comes to an end on Saturday against Bluefield College, an NAIA program that is currently 2-4 on the season.