Liberty defeated Lipscomb on Tuesday night, 78-69, to extend its winning streak to four games. With the win, the Flames improved to 18-7 overall and 9-1 in ASUN play. Liberty was led by Kyle Rode’s career-high 24 points and Darius McGhee who posted his first career double-double with 29 points and 10 assists while also adding 8 rebounds.
Following the game, Lipscomb head coach Lennie Acuff had some very strong words to say about Liberty and their personnel this season. Here’s a recap of much of what Coach Acuff had to say about the Flames:
ON DARIUS MCGHEE
“The problem is McGhee puts so much pressure on you with his ability to play north and south. Anytime you have a big that can shoot, it’s a problem when you have a guard that can get it to him any time. He goes 29, 10, and 8, people pay a lot of money for guys to do what he’s doing.”
“He’s a pro. I don’t coach in the NBA, but, I tell you what, he will have a crack at it. A couple of things that are a real credit to him and their culture is, obviously, he has a ton of freedom, which he should have a ton of freedom, which I think is very good coaching, but the rest of the guys understand what he brings to the table. They know they are going to get their game off of him. I’ve said it since I watched him play the first game of the year, every time he passes it, he’s doing his teammates a favor because he could literally shoot it every time down. I don’t care who he plays, he could shoot the ball every time down. It might not be a great shot, but he could get one off and sometimes, honestly, there’s times he’s almost better taking tough threes than when he is just wide open.”
“There’s just nothing you can do. We think Ahsan (Asadullah) is a great player for us, and he is a great player, but it’s so hard. You’ve got to work to get him the ball. They enter the ball with McGhee, and they’re playing him at the point now where last year they were playing him off the ball. The young man that was here last year did a really good job for them at the point, but when he’s got that ball in his hands about 75% of his possessions, that’s a real handful. They are going to be a tough out. They will be a real tough out. I think it’s the best team they’ve had for the three years I’ve been here, for sure the best offensive team.”
ON MCGHEE AND RODE
“They start four guys shooting over 40% from three. Obviously, McGhee is the best player in the league. He’s one of the best guards in the country. As far as value, Kyle Rode is not far behind him. He’s the unicorn. He can do everything. He’s like a point forward. He’s an unbelievable leader.”
ON KYLE RODE
“He’s just so strong and physical. You are who you can guard. He’s a five-man defensively, and he’s a point guard on offense. When you’ve got that kind of ability to be multiple positions on both ends, that makes it tough.”
ON WHAT MAKES LIBERTY SO TOUGH TO PLAY AGAINST
“That’s what makes them so different this year is they keep five guys out there that can make threes. Then, obviously, they are elite defensively, but they are playing really good. That’s why they are 46-1 (at home) in their last 47 games.”
“They are big. They are physical. They are experienced. They are tremendously well coached. They’ve got everything you need. They are a great team. They’ve got a good thing going here, a lot of respect for them.”
