WOMENS BASKETBALL
The Lady Flames are now 9 games into the 2016-17 season. Through those 9 games, they are 1-8 on the season, their lone win coming against West Liberty out of West Virginia. This record is not completely unexpected as this year has been deemed a ‘rebuilding year’ with the losses of their top scorers in Ashley Rininger, Catherine Kearney, and Sadalia Ellis.
Now three freshman lead the Lady Flames in scoring and rebounding: Keyen Green, Ola Makurat, and Kierra Johnson- Graham. Though the program has grown accustomed to success, this down year should not be disheartening. The future looks bright for this team.
Next up, they will travel to Charlottesville, VA for the Cavalier Classic where they will face Dayton on December 28th and UMBC on the 29th. Following the New Year, the Lady Flames open up conference play at Charleston Southern on January 3rd and at home on January 7th against High Point.
MENS BASKETBALL
The Flames finish the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 5-8 record. Ryan Kemrite ended up being their leading scorer with 13 points a game while the now-injured Caleb Homesley had a team-high 6 rebounds per game. John Dawson, the pre-season first team all-Big South selection, is averaging just 8 points a game and, as they prepare for conference play, will look to step his game up. R-freshman forward Myo Baxter-Bell and freshman guard Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz have made an impact, sharing 21 starts and both averaging 6.5 points a game.
Looking forward, the Flames open conference play at Presbyterian on December 29th. Following that, they will travel to the South Carolina coast to take on Charleston Southern on the 31st. Following the New Year, they return to the Vines Center for their first home conference games of the season against UNC Asheville on January 3rd and Campbell on January 7th.
CALEB HOMESLEY SEASON ENDING INJURY
One of Liberty’s most valuable players went down on December 10th against Princeton. It was announced that Caleb Homesley, who lead the team in points, rebounds, assists, and blocks, is done for the season due to a right knee injury. While this loss is huge, it can be argued that the Flames have one of the deepest rosters they have ever had. With conference play right around the corner, Liberty still poised to sit atop the Big South. But other players will have to step up in Homesley’s absence.
FOOTBALL RECRUITS
A number of verbal commits have come in over the past few weeks for the Flames:
QB Mason Cunningham (JUCO)
OL/DL Elisha Mitchell
DL Jayod Sanders
DB Tyler Murray
They join the likes of 5 others:
OL Cooper McCaw
OL Tristan Schultz
WR Khaleb Coleman
LB Remington Green
DB Aaron Pierre
Even before the retirement of Tanner Hartman and transfer of Lucas Holder, the offensive line was one of the weaker position groups on the team. With the loss of those two upperclassmen, the Flames will have to give ample attention here should they want better results from the running game and quarterback play.
One of the more interesting additions is JUCO QB Mason Cunningham. With him, the Flames have Buckshot Calvert, Stephon Masha, and Rudiger Yearick. It is not likely these 4 stay on the roster…as QBs at least. There has been hype around Masha’s abilities apart from the QB position. Will he line up somewhere other than the backfield next year?
