After a tough road loss to Missouri, the Flames got back in the win column with a dominating 73-26 win over Columbia International. With this victory, the Flames home win streak improves to 25 in a row which is good for third in the nation, behind only Gonzaga and Prairie View A&M.
Last weekend, the Flames hosted another Appalachian Athletic Conference team in Bluefield, and while the Flames had success on the offensive side of the ball, they struggled defensively. That was not the case today, as Liberty held the CIU Rams to just 26 points. That set a program record for the fewest points allowed in a game.
The Flames absolutely dominated the Rams in the first half, with the halftime score being 47-9. 11 different Flames were able to score in the opening half, and 13 ended up scoring by the end of the game. True freshman Isiah Warfield led the Flames in scoring in the first frame with 7 points on 3-3 shooting, and also had a block and a steal. The highest-rated recruit in program history had a career day, finishing with 10 points on 4-4 shooting, as Flames Nation got a good glimpse of what the rookie was capable of.
The Flames maintained their big lead in the second half, with two new Flames joining the scoring in Colton Reed and Marten Maide. The layup from Maide was the redshirt freshman’s first bucket as a Flame. Blake Preston followed an impressive game against Missouri with another great performance, as the Sophomore scored a game-high 11 points while hauling in 6 rebounds. Liberty shot 54.5% from the field and outrebounded the Rams 42-23. While the Flames are among the nation’s best in shooting the three, Liberty was able to dominate on the inside today, as only 27 of the Flame’s 73 points came from beyond the arc.
Liberty’s next matchup will be against South Carolina State on Tuesday, December 18th in Liberty Arena. The Bulldogs have struggled so far this season to say the least, as they sit with an 0-6 record and have lost each game that they have played by 20 points or more. Liberty leads the series history between the two programs 2-0, as the Flames won both matchups against the Bulldogs in 2018 and 2019. The tip-off for this game is at 7:00 and will be televised on ESPN+.
