The Flames fell on the road to Lamar 82-65 on Monday night. Here’s our rapid reactions:
1 – Lamar raced off to a 20-6 start to open up the game, and dominated most of the first half. The Flames will need to start games better when conference play begins next week if they want to compete for the Big South autobid this year.
2 – The Flames were in a lot of foul trouble early. Myo Baxter-Bell and Brock Gardner both picked up 2 fouls within the first 5 minutes and both were on the bench for the remainder of the first half. AC Reid came off the bench and hit a pair of 3’s, but also picked up 3 first half fouls which limited his playing time.
3 – Even though Lamar controlled the first half, Liberty was able to cut it to 36-32 in the final minute of first half, but a Cardinal 3 at the end of the half pushed the Lamar lead to 39-32 at the break and killed any momentum the Flames had.
4 – Lamar came out firing in the 2nd half and pushed the lead to double digits early, where it remained for a majority of the 2nd half.
5 – The Flames struggled to defend the 3 once again. They were torched by Princeton last Saturday and it was again the difference in tonight’s game. The Cardinals shot 60% (12-20) from behind the ark, including 7 from sophomore Nick Garth.
6 – Liberty continues to have a balanced scoring attack. 4 players (Kemrite, Reid, Dawson, and Cabbil) all scored in double figures. It’s good to see such a deep, balanced attack the Flames offense can provide. It should be helpful come conference play.
7 – Caleb Homesley’s absence was notable. Before going down with an injury against Princeton, Homesley was Liberty’s best player and it was obvious they missed him tonight. The team will have to work hard to overcome the injury, but they still have a long season remaining.
8 – It’s a disappointing loss for the Flames, but they need to keep their heads up as they play at Houston on Wednesday night. This team is still young and in a growing process, so it’ll take some time, especially as they learn to play without Homesley. Even though they were down the whole game, they never stopped showing their fight and determination.
