Liberty opened play in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase on Friday morning but had no problems with the Morgan State Bears, winning 89-48. With the win, the Flames improve to 6-0 for first time in the school’s Division I era and just the second time in school history.
It was a very unique setting for a college basketball game as it was played in the ballroom of a hotel in the Bahamas with makeshift benches and chairs located throughout the ballroom.
Caleb Homesley made the start after missing the previous game this past Tuesday night against Navy. Morgan State’s pressure sped the Flames up early as the Bears took the early lead into the first media timeout at 7-5 with 15:47 left in the first half.
Scottie James scored Liberty’s first two points of the game as he got an offensive rebound and put it back in. Those two points allowed the redshirt-senior to reach the 1,000 career point mark.
Liberty would respond with early second chance points from Scottie James and Kyle Rode as the Flames took the lead. Freshmen Rode and Shiloh Robinson provided a big lift off the bench in the opening minutes as Rode scored 5 early points and Robinson had a rim-rattling dunk as he drove the baseline. The Flames took the 17-13 lead at the under 12 minute media timeout.
Consecutive Rode and Darius McGhee three-pointers helped Liberty push its lead to a game-high of nine at 23-14 as Morgan State head coach Kevin Broadus called a timeout.
Following the timeout, Kyle Rode continued his hot play as he knocked down two more three-pointers on consecutive offensive possessions. Then, Elijah Cuffee got in on the action with a corner three as the Flames showed no early signs of difficulty shooting from the ballroom. Following Cuffee’s three, Liberty lead 36-16 with 5:09 left in the first half.
The pace slowed down considerably down the final minutes of the first half as Liberty got into the bonus and took advantage by knocking down three straight free throws to take a 39-16 lead at the final media timeout of the half.
With the large lead and the Flames set to play 3 games in 3 days, McKay opted to utilize a much deeper bench that typical. Josh Price, Colton Reed, and Blake Preston all got considerable time in the first half and were able to maintain the lead.
The Flames got to the line 20 times in the first half as Liberty scored 50 points in the opening 20 minutes to take a 50-26 lead into the break.
Liberty came out of halftime the same way it ended the first half as the Flames opened on a 15-5 run before the first media timeout. Elijah Cuffee scored two buckets in the opening minutes as he reached double figures, joining Rode.
Caleb Homesley played just 6 minutes in the first half and he did not see the court in the second half as it seems that Coach McKay is resting him for the final two games this weekend that are expected to be much more competitive. McKay continued to utilize his bench frequently giving his starters plenty of rest as Liberty pushed its lead to double Morgan State at 68-34.
Liberty would maintain its margin throughout the game and coast to the win while getting its main rotation players plenty of rest. The Flames would coast to the win with noone playing more than 27 minutes.
New career highs were made by Kyle Rode (17), Shiloh Robinson (9) , Brendan Newton (6), and Josh Price (5). Rode had 14 in the first half, as he connected on all three of his first half three point attempts.
Scottie James had a very solid afternoon with 15 points and 4 rebounds as he got to the free throw line 12 times, making nine of them. Elijah Cuffee also made double figures, finishing with 12 as he made 5-of-6 field goals.
As a team, Liberty got to the free throw line 47 times, making 33 of them. The Flames also shot 54.5% from the field and 47.1% from 3.
The defense continued to play very well, holding the Bears to 14-of-49 shooting (28.6%) and 3-of-19 from three-point range (15.8%).
With the win, Liberty moves into the winner’s bracket of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase and will play Saturday evening at 5 p.m. The Flames will play the winner of Game 2 from the Bahamas, Milwaukee and Rice.
