Liberty comes up just short, falling to Charleston Southern, 64-63. Here’s our Rapid Reactions:

  1. It was an odd final 35 seconds. Caleb Homesley hit a 3-pointer to give Liberty the 63-62 lead with 35 seconds to play. For some reason, Coach McKay called for the Flames to foul the Buccaneers. Lovell Cabbil did so, putting Armel Potter on the line with 31 seconds left. Potter made both free throws to give CSU the 64-63 lead. At the time, Charleston Southern had only been whistled for 2 team fouls in the 2nd half, so they began using their fouls to shorten the game. After 2 foul calls, John Dawson  had an open look from 3 with 16 seconds that he missed. Caleb Homesley got the rebound and missed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left. CSU rebounded the ball and Liberty fouled Raemond Robinson who missed the front end of a 1 and 1. After a Liberty timeout, Dawson got a decent look at a running 3-pointer that he missed, giving the Bucs the win.
  2. Some mismanagement by Liberty during that stretch. Why foul CSU with the lead? Why take two 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds when only trailing by 1 point?
  3. If Liberty was able to shoot slightly better in the first half, it might not have come down to the final seconds. The Flames started the game 3/18 from the field and 7/28 in the 1st half as they trailed Charleston Southern by 11 entering the break.
  4. Dawson was 2/10 shooting in the 1st half. He finished the game 7/20 from the field with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and only 1 turnover.
  5. Caleb Homesley led the way with 17 points as he was 4/5 from 3. His only missed 3-pointer came in the final seconds of the game. His 4 made 3-pointers are a career-high. He added 6 rebounds.
  6. Lovell Cabbil had 4 steals, 3 of which came in the 2nd half as Liberty was making its comeback. The freshman guard struggled from the floor though, as he shot 2 of 8 finishing with only 5 points.
  7. Charleston Southern did a good job of keeping Maxwell out of the game as he only attempted 1 field goal.
  8. Ezra Talbert had one of  his better games, finishing with 11 points on 3/4 shooting from 3.
  9. The Flames connected on 40% of their 32 3-pointers attempted.
  10. It’s tough to win on the road if you allow your opponent to shoot 51% from the field as the Bucs did.
  11. Just 9 turnovers committed by the Flames tonight.
  12. Liberty plays at Winthrop on Saturday at 4pm.