andoh1Rapid Reactions following Liberty’s loss to Longwood:

  1. With the loss, the Flames fall to 0-6 in Big South play. The 0-6 start matches the 2011-12 season for the 2nd worst start in Big South play in school history.
  2. This was a game of runs. Longwood jumped out to an early 16-8 lead before they went cold from the floor, going 7 minutes without a field goal. This allowed Liberty to stay in the game, but the Lancers maintained a 20-18 lead when they finally ended their drought. There were similar runs in the 2nd half, that saw Longwood balloon the lead to 23 and Liberty get as close as 8.
  3. 20 turnovers for Liberty. How many games this season is that with 20+ turnovers?
  4. On the bright side, the Flames did score 60 points for the first time in conference play this season. Liberty’s 71 points were the most they have scored against a Division I team this year. Let’s just pretend that Longwood doesn’t rank dead last in the Big South in scoring defense giving up nearly 75 points per game.
  5. David Andoh scored a career-high 24 points. He was a perfect 10/10 from the free throw line. It was Liberty’s first 20 point performance against a Division I opponent since Tomasz Gielo scored 23 in the Flames’ first Division I game of the year.
  6. Hello James Johnson? Did you get off the bus in Farmville? Liberty’s starting center’s stat line had goose eggs except for 1 turnover and 2 fouls. He also missed his 2 free throw attempts.
  7. Liberty’s starting point guard, Peter Moller, finished with 3 assists and 6 turnovers.
  8. Nice stat lines from Drew Smith and AC Reid who finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds and 8 points and 8 rebounds, respectively.
  9. Jordan Dembley got his first significant playing time this season. He gave the Flames a nice boost off the bench as they made their late 2nd half run trying to get back into the game. The freshman point guard finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, and most importantly 0 turnovers.
  10. Liberty remains winless in Willett Hall although this game seemed different. For the first time since the series was renewed after Longwood stepped up to Division I, it felt like the Lancers were the better team. The Flames’ previous trips to Willett Hall this century, it was a huge disappointment and upset to lose to Longwood. It didn’t feel that way tonight.
  11. The Flames attempted 12 more free throws than the Lancers. A margin that would have been even wider had Longwood not attempted 6 free throws in the final 45 seconds of the game as Liberty fouled attempting to make a comeback. There was also several questionable calls that seemed to go the Flames’ way. That doesn’t usually happen on the road, especially in Farmville.
  12. Longwood made 16 of their 29 3-point attempts. The Flames made just 5 3-pointers. That’s an 11 point differential right there.
  13. The Flames host Winthrop at 7pm on Thursday