Liberty defeated Lipscomb, 73-57, on Sunday afternoon in from of an ASUN Tournament record 7,728 fans as the Flames clinched its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 5th in school history.
The Flames defeated Lipscomb, for the second straight season in the conference championship game.
“Really proud of our group,” Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay said. “Anytime you have the target on your back or you’re the team that is expected to win, it’s hard to navigate those expectations of others. But our group showed its emotional maturity. This afternoon was just a reflection of the growth that has occurred in our guys. We came together tonight. We were a tough out on both ends of the floor.”
This was the first time Liberty has hosted a conference championship game since 2004, and in that game the Flames jumped all over High Point and ran away with a 41 point win. This game had a very similar feel in front of a raucous Vines Center.
“I thought they were fantastic today,” Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff said. “Today, we hit a buzzsaw for sure. I have a ton of respect for Coach McKay and his staff. They were locked in and ready to go. We have no excuses. They were the better team for sure.”
The Flames had struggled offensively the past three games, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. First team all-ASUN performer Scottie James and ASUN Player of the Year Caleb Homesley made their mark early, and the rest of the team followed suit. All seven Flames who played in the first half scored.
“I told the guys before we went out, ‘let’s just have fun,'” Homesley said after the game. “The last two games, they were close, they were hard fought. I thought we had a little bit of fun, but we didn’t match our full potential. I told them tonight, ‘let’s just go out there and have fun. Play the right way and we will win the game.'”
Perhaps due to the environment, the Lipscomb Bisons had 9 first half turnovers leading to 18 Liberty points as the Flames went into the locker room with a 45-26 lead. Homesley led the Flames with 14 first half points.
The Bisons would come out of the locker room looking to make a run. A quick 7-0 burst by Lipscomb cut the Liberty lead to 12 as the Flames went scoreless for nearly the first 5 minutes of the second half.
Darius McGhee, who didn’t make a field goal in the first half, would stop the Lipscomb run with a corner three. The sophomore guard scored 8 of Liberty’s first 9 points in the half, and after a Cuffee corner three, the lead was back up to 16 with 11:24 left.
Elijah Cuffee had been struggling offensively much of conference season, but he broke out in a big way in the championship game. The junior guard, who always gets the top defensive guard assignment, reached double figures by halftime with 10 points, the first time he had reached double figures in the last 11 games. He finished with a season-high 16 points as he was 4-of-8 from three.
Asadullah finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds as he set an ASUN Tournament record in scoring with 89 points and rebounds.
Caleb Homesley was named ASUN Tournament MVP as he finished with 16 points and made 7-of-13 field goals while also grabbing 9 rebounds.
Scottie James and McGhee were named to the all-tournament team as Scottie finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds in the championship game. McGhee had 13 points.
For the first time this season, Kyle Rode did not play in the game.
Liberty will enter the NCAA Tournament at 30-4 overall. The 30 wins set a program record for wins in a season, besting last year’s mark of 29. The Flames await the announcement of their destination in the Big Dance, and will find out their opponent and destination a week from today on Selection Sunday.
“This was way harder than last year,” said McKay. “No one expected us to be in the tournament last year. This year, everyone, including Joe Lunardi who I really like, everyone had us as the team advancing. Our guys see that too. Absolutely there was a lot of pressure. I’m really pleased and feel blessed that we get to share our experience a little bit longer because they are an amazing group to be around.”
