The Flames would open defense of their 2013 Big South Conference Tournament Championship with a 74-53 victory over crosstown opponent Randolph. Liberty was led in scoring by Tomasz Gielo with 14 points.
Burrus finished with 8 points and 5 boards
Davon Marshall, Casey Roberts, Tomasz Gielo, Antwan Burrus, JR Coronado would get the start. Head coach Dale Layer would waste no time getting redshirt-senior Antwan Burrus involved after missing all of last year due to injury. On the Flames’ first offensive possession, they would go right to Antwan who would score from the block. After the game Marshall talked about the play call, “We just wanted to get him going, I think everybody was happy to see him get that basket to see him back out there. I wanted to see him score 20 tonight.” Liberty continually tried to feed the post throughout the game as they used their size advantage over Division III Randolph.
The Flames frequently used full court pressure and would then drop into a 3-2 zone with the long 6’9″ Tomasz Gielo at the top of the zone. The Wildcats would keep the game interesting early on as they cut it to 2 at 20-18 late midway through the 1st half. Liberty would go into the locker room with a 38-29 halftime lead. The Flames were led by Tomasz Gielo’s 10 points and Antwan Burrus’ 6 points in the 1st 20 minutes. Last year’s Big South Tournament MVP Davon Marshall was held to just 4 points on 1/2 shooting from the field.. The senior point guard would chip in 4 assists.
Coming out of halftime, the Wildcats would show they were not going to go away lightly. Randolph cut the lead to 4 multiple times early in the 2nd half, but a dunk by Drew Smith that made it 46-38 with 13:20 to play proved to be the boost the Flames needed. Coach Layer agreed, “Drew gave us a huge lift with his energy.” Liberty’s defense would really ramp up in the 2nd half as the Flames forced numerous Randolph turnovers as they pushed their lead out as high as 21.
Retic finished with 4 turnovers
Joe Retic’s Liberty debut did not go as he planned. The Junior College transfer finished with 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 4 turnovers in 9 minutes of play. Most of his turnovers were unforced as well. “It was Joe’s first Division I basketball game,” explained Layer. “He’s a good player, we need him to be good, I think he’s going to really help us, but it’s a learning curve for him.”
Davon Marshall would finish with 8 points on 3 of 8 shooting. He also added 5 assists, 4 turnovers, and 3 steals. On how Randolph played him: “I’m just playing the game how it comes to me. They face-guarded me which means there’s probably 2 or 3 other guys open.”
John Caleb Sanders would play just 10 minutes as he is dealing with a couple of nagging injuries. The senior guard finished with 4 points, all from the line. Layer postgame on Cabe: “We need him in there. Once he’s in there for a more extended time you’ll see more consistency out of us.”
Drew Smith would chip in 10 points and 8 boards and his typical 2 or 3 highlight reel dunks. He said the team really fed off the energy from the crowd. “A loud crowd (like the 2nd half against Randolph) you’re going to have energy you didn’t have before.”
Drew Smith energized the Flames in the 2nd half
Tomasz Gielo was really the story of the night. The native of Poland led the Flames with 14 points on 5/10 shooting including 2/5 from 3. He looked much more polished than a year ago.
Davon Marshall explained Liberty’s slow start, “We let them score too much in the beginning and let them get confidence.”
Layer’s overall take on the game: “2nd half I thought we responded well. I don’t think our chemistry is great right now. We weren’t on the same page as much as I would like to be.”
The Flames will get back in action on Tuesday as they take on William & Mary in Williamsburg. The Tribe lost to Hampton Friday night 77-69.
Joe Retic had a slightly better line than what is mentioned in the article. He actually had 5 assts not 2 and he played 13 min not 9. He didn’t take a shot. He lived up to his pass 1st reputation I would say. I believe he can score some at this level but he won’t need to score often with this team. Lots of people to give the ball to that can deliver.