Liberty (6-3) utilized a dominating first half run over the final 11 minutes of the opening half to hand South Carolina State (0-8) an 82-52 loss.
“I saw glimpses in the first half of excellence on the defensive end,” said McKay. “I was really pleased with that, hats off to Coach (Brad Soucie). We continue to try to exhort our guys to try and be hard to play against defensively, and the details will usually add up if you continue to honor that process. I will have to go back and watch the tape, but I thought we played really well defensively.”
The Bulldogs opened the the game making their first two three point shots and made three of five triples to claim an early 11-5 lead at the first media timeout. Blake Preston, making his first career start, had all 5 of Liberty’s points to begin while also grabbing 4 rebounds. The Flames made just 1 of 6 field goals to begin the game.
South Carolina State would make 4 of their first 6 three pointers to push the lead out to 14-5 before the Flames reeled off 8 straight points. Chris Parker had 6 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal during the run that lasted just 85 seconds. True freshman Jonathan Jackson made his collegiate debut during the run as he missed the first 8 Liberty games due to an undisclosed illness (non-COVID).
The Liberty run, if you can even call it that, extended to 39-2 and 31-0 as the Flames got hot and the defense clamped down. The Bulldogs did not make a field goal over the final 10:50 of the first half and only scored 1 point during that time as they made a free throw in the final minute.
Darius McGhee began to heat up during the run as as he made four three pointers, including three straight. Jackson also attempted and made his first career field goal attempt, coming from three point range. Liberty would end the first half shooting 55% from the field while holding the Bulldogs to 26%. Blake Preston finished the first half with 11 points and 9 rebounds. McGhee added 14 points as he made 4 of 6 from three.
It was more of the same to begin the second half, but this time Liberty turned to the three point ball. The Flames made four three pointers in the first four minutes of the second half to push the lead to 56-23 by the first media timeout of the final stanza. Kyle Rode, Chris Parker, and Elijah Cuffee all got in all the three point action with Cuffee knocking down two.
Liberty went on another double digit scoring run, with 11 straight points as the margin continued to widen. The Flames led 64-23 with 11:44 left in the game. As McKay went to the bench for most of the remaining minutes, the Bulldogs were able to keep the game within a respectable margin.
The Flames dominated on the glass, outrebounding South Carolina State, 41-22, and leading in second chance points, 13-2. Liberty also controlled the game with a 32-12 advantage in points in the paint.
Elijah Cuffee and Darius McGhee led the way with 16 points each. They both shot 6 of 10 from the field and made 4 three pointers a piece. Blake Preston finished with 13 points and a career high 11 rebounds as he recorded his first career double double. Chris Parker rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points, 8 assists, and 5 steals.
“He’s been playing really well,” McKay said of Blake Preston. “I talked (previously) about how good he did in practice against Scottie James and Myo Baxter-Bell, you’re seeing the evidence of that the last couple, three games. He’s done a really nice job for us. It’s no disrespect to Micaiah or Shiloh because those guys are playing well too, it’s just teams are going small against us and for matchup sake we’ve been going with Blake a little more. I thought he was really good tonight.”
Jonathan Jackson finished with 6 points and 1 rebound as he made 2 of his 4 field goals, all of the three point variety. It was his first action for the Flames this season. McKay had previously said Jackson was part of the team’s top seven before he was forced to miss some action.
“It’s been a long wait to get him on the court,” McKay said of Jackson. “He’s practiced really well. He didn’t play anywhere near as well as he’s practiced for us. He’s really been a topic of conversation in the coaches’ meetings. He just knows how to play. He’s a real weapon out there. He’s not just a shooter, he can score at the rim. He is learning the Pack, like most of them, it takes a little bit of time, but I was pleased that he got some minutes. He’s not in condition. This is the first game he’s been eligible to play due to a sickness or illness that was un-COVID related. It was great to get him on the court.”
The Flames return to action in less than 24 hours as Liberty hosts Carver College on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. This will give the team a small preview of what is to come during conference play this season as the ASUN has opted to go to games being played on back to back nights at the same venue against the same team on Friday and Saturday. Liberty is scheduled to begin league play on Jan.1 and Jan. 2 in Nashville against preseason favorite Lipscomb.
“We’re nowhere near the best version of ourselves yet,” McKay concluded his post game press conference saying. “But we are on the journey.”
