Liberty University’s spring semester officially comes to a close today. Though events surrounding COVID-19 brought sports around the country to a screeching halt, Flames sports still made big headlines this semester. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest stories of the past few months.
MEN’S BASKETBALL REPEATS AS ASUN CHAMPS
Liberty entered the 2019-20 season amid much fanfare following the team’s 29-win campaign the previous season that resulted in an ASUN Championship and first-ever NCAA Tournament win over Mississippi State. Behind the four headed senior monster in Caleb Homesley, Scottie James, Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz, and Myo Baxter-Bell, the Flames were one of the final three unbeaten teams in the country before falling in the final game of the 2019 calendar year at LSU.
Ritchie McKay’s squad began the new year and entered ASUN play at 14-1 overall, and the question was more about how many games the team would lose in conference play than if they would win the regular season title.
Dreams of an undefeated regular season run through the league came to a screeching halt with a late January swoon in Florida with back-to-back losses at North Florida and Stetson.
The team would rebound to 8 straight and 11 of its final 12 games, culminating in the ASUN Championship game on March 8th. In the final men’s basketball to be played in the Vines Center, Liberty repeated as ASUN Champions by knocking off Lipscomb in the title bout for the second straight year.
The Flames finished the season a perfect 17-0 at home and won 23 straight to close out the Vines Center dating back to the 2018-19 season.
Unfortunately, this senior class and this version of the Flames would not get a chance to duplicate success in the Big Dance, as it was cancelled amid the coronavirus outbreak.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ALSO WINS CHAMPIONSHIP
For a second consecutive season, Carey Green and the Lady Flames advanced to the ASUN Championship game where Liberty was destined to meet heavy favorite Florida Gulf Coast.
Liberty got to the championship game by defeating #2 seed North Alabama on their court by 3 in overtime on March 11. Before the championship game could be played, it was nixed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The ASUN Conference elected to name both Liberty and FGCU co-champions for the 2020 ASUN Women’s Basketball Championship.
The championship is Liberty’s first in the ASUN and 18th tournament title overall.
SPRING PRACTICE HALTED AFTER 5 PRACTICES
Unlike many programs across the country who missed their entire spring session, Liberty was able to get 5 practices in before spring break and the cancellation of the rest of the practice session. Those practices were vital as Hugh Freeze and his Liberty football team look to replace a lot of production from last year’s senior class.
The Flames will look to a quarterback room, led by Malik Willis, to guide the program into 2020 looking for a second consecutive bowl bid.
AGG BECOMES 8TH FLAME TO BE DRAFTED
Liberty wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden was destined to become the program’s 8th ever player selected in the NFL Draft, the only question was when. All semester long we tracked his performances at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.
We spoke with Mel Kiper and scoured the internet for where the standout would land, as most analysts had him pegged as high as a 2nd round pick.
Day 2 of the draft passed, and AGG was still on the board but remained as one of the top prospects available. Finally, his name was called late in the 4th round when the Washington Redskins selected him.
FLAMES SET RECORD WITH NFL SIGNEES
Not to be outdone, Liberty had four additional players sign as undrafted free agents with various NFL teams. The five total that were drafted/signed set a Liberty school record for most from a single class.
Jessie Lemonier signed with the San Diego Chargers, Solomon Ajayi and Elijah Benton inked deals with the Cleveland Browns, and Bejour Wilson signed with the Arizona Cardinals.
FREEZE FINALIZES PROGRAM’S BEST SIGNING CLASS
In February, Liberty finalized the best ever signing class in school history. Under 2nd year head coach Hugh Freeze, the Flames pulled in a top 100 ranked recruiting class, according to 247Sports, the first top 100 class in school history.
LFC OPENS
This spring also marked the grand opening of the newly remodeled and vastly expanded Liberty Football Center. The coaching staff moved into the new pristine digs in April, while the student-athletes will have to wait until they return to campus later this year to see their fully completed new digs.
SOFTBALL TOSSES NO-HITTER
Despite having their season cut short, Liberty junior Megan Johnson pitched the fifth perfect game in program history during a 13-0 victory over Texas Southern in early march. Johnson became the first Lady Flame since Julia DiMartino against Princeton on Feb. 24, 2019 to pitch a perfect game. She needed just 39 pitches to retire all 15 batters she faced.
LIBERTY GREAT PETER ALUMA DIES
In February, Liberty University Hall of Famer Peter Aluma passed away at the age of 46. He was living in Sacramento, California. Aluma was one of the best basketball players to ever wear a Liberty uniform. Playing with the Flames from 1994-1997, he finished his career with 1,715 points and 682 rebounds, those numbers put him 7th on Liberty’s all-time scoring list and 8th on the program’s career rebound list. He also owns program records for career blocked shots and free throws attempted.
HOCKEY FINISHES SEASON 2ND IN COUNTRY
The Liberty University ACHA Division I men’s hockey team finished the season ranked 2nd in the nation and was set to make its fourth straight trip to the ACHA DI National Championships with perhaps its best team in school history.
The ACHA DI Tournament was scheduled for late March where the 31-4 Flames were seeded second and set to receive a first-round bye before the tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus.
