The Flames drop a close one to Furman, 61-58. Here’s our rapid reactions:
- It’s a disappointing loss, and one that stings, but as Coach McKay says this is a process.
- Liberty put on one of its better first half-performances, as they led the Paladins, 27-20, at the intermission. Furman shot just 30.8% from the field and was out-rebounded, 17-14. The Flames used a balanced attack, with 7 players scoring between 2 and 7 points in the opening 20 minutes.
- The Paladins made their surge at the beginning of the 2nd half, hitting 5 straight field goals during an 11-0 run to take a lead. The Flames were able to hold Furman at bay, reclaiming the lead with big defensive stops and buckets by Dawson, Pacheco-Ortiz, and Kemrite.
- With the game tied at 53 and 2 minutes to play, Furman closed the game on an 8-3 run to win it.
- After struggling the past 2 games, John Dawson rebounded with 11 points and 4 rebounds. He only shot 4 of 10 from the field, and missed a 3 pointer with 19 seconds left that would have given the Flames the lead. Dawson did convert on a 3 pointer just a few seconds later to cut the deficit to 1.
- Furman picked up their first win against a Big South foe in 4 tries as they have lost to Presbyterian, UNC-Asheville, and Winthrop so far this season. The Paladins play Gardner-Webb on Saturday.
- The Paladins shot over 58% from the field in the 2nd half after being held to 30.8% shooting in the first half.
- After missing the game UNC Greensboro game Saturday due to injury, Ryan Kemrite returned with a bang. He continues to rock the man-bun, and went on to lead the Flames in scoring with 18 points on the night. He made 5 of his 6 field goals including 3 of 4 from 3. Kemrite was also 5 of 6 from the free throw line and finished with 5 rebounds.
- Caleb Homesley struggled offensively, shooting just 1/8 from the floor. This comes on the heels of his first 2 double-double games of his career against Central Penn and UNC Greensboro. Homesley finished with 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers.
- Liberty returns to action on Saturday afternoon for a home clash against Princeton. Tip is scheduled for 2pm.
Notable quotes:
John Dawson – “We’ve got to have some grit to us. Right now, I feel like we’re tough when it’s easy right now. When adversity starts to hit, I feel like a lot of guys, not saying anybody in particular, but the whole team, it’s like we get fed up, we don’t have the same composure we usually have. That’s what we need to do moving forward, play with some grit and some execution for all 40 minutes.”
John Dawson – “Losing in general is bad, no matter what the amount or how it is. I hate it. We’ve got to play all 40 minutes. We played 20 minutes one game and 20 minutes the other. UNCG it was the last 20 minutes, this was the first 20 minutes. We’ve got to learn to put them together and execute.”
Ryan Kemrite – “They just had the mindset to get in the paint and they started punching our gaps. We just needed tighter gaps and that really came back to hurt us down the stretch. They were getting easy buckets, and we just didn’t do what we needed to do to pull it out.”
Coach McKay – “Gravely disappointing, I’m tired of going through this, but I get it. It’s part of the building process. We’ve chosen to build with freshmen. They’ve got a little bit more experience than us. It’s no excuse.”
Coach McKay – “We just haven’t executed well enough to finish a game 5 different occasions. Add ’em up, Greensboro by 7 or 9, I can’t remember which, William & Mary by 9, Furman by 3, and VCU by 5. Last year, we were getting boat-raced. I mean, we weren’t even competitive. We’re competitive, we just got to be better. If we want to win, we have to be better.”
Coach McKay – “We can’t let our identity be offense. Offense comes and goes. I’ve been at Virginia for 6 years prior to coming back here. I know what lasts. Until we get that solved then we will do this again, hey they played close but no cigar. That’s not really my agenda, I’m too competitive for that.”
