Liberty (21-7, 12-3) fell to Kennesaw State (21-7, 13-2), 88-81, in a first place battle just outside of Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday night.

“Hats off to Kennesaw, they played a terrific game responded numerous times to our runs, that’s what a good team does and they are a good team,” said Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay. “Not used to seeing us give up 72% shooting in the second half, yet I think there are a lot of variables that contributed to that. I will have to watch the tape before I comment on that.”

It was a high level atmosphere at the KSU Convocation Center for a high level mid-major basketball game. Credit to Kennesaw State and their fans for being able to pack out their arena and bring plenty of energy.

Liberty was able to answer the energy in the opening minutes, primarily fueled by two-time reigning ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee. The 5’9″ senior guard from Roxboro, North Carolina scored 10 points before the first media timeout and reached 20 after just 12 minutes of action. It helped propel Liberty to a first half by as many as nine points and entering the locker room with a 41-36 advantage.

After scoring just two points in the first half, Kyle Rode knocked down two triples early in the second half to push Liberty’s lead to a game high 14 points. Kennesaw would quickly respond with a 7-0 run to cut the Flames’ lead to 7. The Owls wouldn’t go away, taking their first lead since the 13:54 mark of the first half in the closing minutes and pulling away late for the win.

McGhee finished with 43 points and a season-high 8 rebounds while Kyle Rode chipped in 11 points and 5 assists. Kennesaw State was 72% from the field in the second half as they outscored the Flames by 12 in the final 20 minutes. Liberty also had 17 turnovers in the loss.

Liberty will now try to flip the page quickly and prepare for Jacksonville State on Saturday. The Gamecocks are 11-17 overall and 4-11 in conference play following their win over Queens on Thursday.

DARIUS WITH A MONSTER NIGHT ON BIG STAGE

During pregame warmups, you couldn’t find a smile on Darius McGhee’s face. That’s unusual for the 5th year senior guard as he is normally laughing and joking most of the pregame. Instead, with first place on the line, McGhee was locked in. He scored 10 points by the first media timeout, had 20 just 12 minutes into the game, and finished with a season-high 43 points. He was 13 of 25 from the field, 8 of 14 from three and 9 of 10 from the charity stripe to go along with a season high 8 rebounds.

“He’s terrific,” said McKay of McGhee. “Hats off to our guys because they saw that he was cooking and they sacrificed maybe their own opportunities to score for getting the ball in his hands and we rode it. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough tonight.”

FLAMES UNABLE TO WIN ON ROAD, IN CLOSE GAME

Kennesaw State improves to 12-0 at home this season as the Flames continue to have struggles on the road and in close games. Liberty now has five of their losses this season coming on the road and are 0-4 in games decided by 10 points or less. Liberty’s losses on the road have come against teams with very good records on their home floor (KSU, Alabama, Oral Roberts, Eastern Kentucky, and Lipscomb).

“I thought the environment was great,” McKay said. “The significance of the outcome made the stage really fun to be a part of. That was a terrific crowd they had. I was really impressed. They are a good team. They continue to respond to runs and they have a guard that can really throw his body into you and get to the free throw line.”

OWLS TAKE CONTROL IN RACE FOR #1

With just three games in the regular season remaining, Kennesaw State takes a commanding one game lead in the regular season title race and owns the head to head tiebreaker over the Flames. The #1 seed will secure home court throughout the conference tournament and also secures an automatic bid to the NIT should that team falter in the ASUN Tournament.

“We’ve gotten to a point in our program that a loss can be deflating to those that support us loyally,” said McKay. “It just speaks to how far we’ve come to where there is a great deal of interest and support for the guys that represent Liberty University. I’m proud of our group. We battled. They have a good team. We’re not invincible, we’re just not, but no team in college basketball is. I think at the end of the day this group is going to respond. We may not win the championship but our identity isn’t tied to that. What I do love is our guys guys stay connected, the locker room was great. They’ve got some poise, we just turned it over too much.”

COACH McKAY POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE