The Flames return to the win column with a 55-53 win over Longwood on Tuesday night. Here’s our rapid reactions:

  1. After a poor performance, particularly in the 2nd half, at Winthrop on Saturday, Liberty’s defense was at its best against the Lancers. Longwood was held to a season low in points for a half (17) and a game (53). The Lancers shot just 33% from the field and committed 16 turnovers.
  2. The Lancers finished the game on an 8-1 run in the final 23 seconds. The game came down to the final play. As time expired, the officials appeared to call a foul on Anthony Fields. The officials reviewed the play and called the game. The only explanation we received was the foul came after the final buzzer.
  3. John Dawson had his best all-around game in his brief time at Liberty. The redshirt-sophomore guard finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists. He was 5/6 from the field and 4/4 from 3, but did commit 4 turnovers. He also played 39 minutes.
  4. The Flames won the game despite 20 turnovers.
  5. In a stat not seen frequently, the Flames had 0 points in the paint in the first half.
  6. Ryan Hiepler had his first DNP since the William & Mary game which was the only other game this season he hasn’t played.
  7. Caleb Homesley had 11 points and 7 rebounds while matching up with Longwood’s Shaq Johnson. Homesley has scored in double figures in 5 games this season, with 4 double figure scoring games coming in the past 7 games.
  8. The win is Liberty’s 3rd conference win this season which bests last year’s 2 wins. The Flames are 3-5 in conference play.
  9. Lovell Cabbil made 5 of 6 free throws in the final 34 seconds of the game. The rest of the team was 3/9 from the charity stripe in the game.
  10. Liberty hosts first-place High Point on Saturday at noon. Of course, this all depends on this huge snow storm everyone’s talking about.