After a disappointing loss Friday night in DeLand, the Liberty Flames (12-5, 4-2) rebounded on Saturday evening with a 68-58 win over the Stetson Hatters (4-6, 2-2). With the win, the Flames improve to 3-0 on the Saturday game of the back-to-back doubleheader against ASUN opponents this season. Liberty is just 1-2 in the Friday portion of the back-to-back.
Liberty’s defense seems to be the difference in the two days, as the Flames are allowing 68.3 points per game to ASUN opponents in the three games played on Friday, compared to just 51.6 points per game allowed in the three games on Saturdays.
Stetson was short-handed in the paint once again on Saturday, as they were on Friday, as as all three scholarship post players (Mahamadou Diawara, Joel Kabimba, and Gabriel Wuor) were out of action Friday night. The Hatters got out to the early lead at 4-0 and 6-2 before the Flames went on a 9-0 to grab control of the game in the early minutes. Drake Dobbs, Elijah Cuffee, and Kyle Rode all connected on three pointers during the run. Liberty would maintain the lead throughout the first half.
After scoring a season high 18 points on Friday night, senior point guard Chris Parker had a very solid first half, scoring 7 points on 3 of 4 shooting. He seems to be the only reliable offensive weapon the Flames have had this weekend. Leading scorer Darius McGhee was held scoreless in the first half, picking up two fouls in the half while missing both of his shots.
Freshman point guard Drake Dobbs continues to provide a lift off the bench for the Flames. He had 3 points, 2 assists, and 1 block in 10 first half minutes. McKay also opted to slightly alter his rotation in Saturday’s game, turning to Micaiah Abii ahead of Shiloh Robinson and Isiah Warfield ahead of Jonathan Jackson.
Keegan McDowell led the team in the first half with 8 points as he made 3 of his 4 field goal attempts and 2 of 3 from behind the arc. Liberty struggled Friday evening shooting the ball from distance, making just 5 of 19 three point field goals. The Flames would match that production in the first half alone, making 5 of 12 three pointers as the team led the Hatters 32-27 at the break.
It was a similar first half to Friday’s game, but the Flames did not let that replay happen in the second half. Liberty utilized a 10-1 run in the opening minutes of the second stanza to seize control of the game and push the lead to double figures at 46-33 with 13 minutes left.
Of course, the Hatters wouldn’t go down without a fight as they made consecutive three pointers to cut the lead to 7 with 11 minutes to play. The Flames were able to withstand the Stetson run as Chris Parker scored 5 straight for Liberty to hold off the Hatters. He got in the lane to draw the foul and made two free throws, followed by a three pointer. Elijah Cuffee and Darius McGhee would then make shots to push the lead to 55-41 with 7:58 to play.
Stetson would cut the lead to as low as 7 over the closing minutes, but the Liberty packline defense swarmed to hold the Hatters at bay as the Flames picked up the win.
Parker led the team in scoring for a second straight night, finishing with 12 points to go along with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Elijah Cuffee, Kyle Rode, and Keegan McDowell had 11 points a piece. Rode added 5 rebounds and 3 assists and McDowell made 3 of his 6 three point attempts. Blake Preston chipped in 8 points and 9 rebounds while Drake Dobbs had a solid 5 points and 3 assists off the bench. Darius McGhee finished with just 4 points but had a team-high 11 rebounds. He only attempted 5 shots on the evening, making two of them, missing both of his three point attempts.
Stetson finished the game shooting just 34.3% from the field, but they were able to keep the score close thanks to 15 offensive rebounds and scoring 17 points off 11 Liberty turnovers.
Liberty is not currently scheduled to play a game next weekend. The Flames were originally scheduled to play Kennesaw State at Liberty Arena this coming weekend before that series was shifted to last weekend. Liberty’s next scheduled games are Jan. 29 and 30 at Jacksonville.
